Description
This natural hybrid was originally found in Crete and introduced into cultivation as aff. concinnatum. It then, for some years, defied accurate diagnosis until examined by Peter Boyce who determined it as a rare natural hybrid, of which very few are known in Arum. Rarer still is that it is reputed to set seed. Something which we can now confirm happens here also.
The leaves appear in the depths of winter and are typically Arum in shape, though many have strong veins picked out in a paler colour (this is not visible in our picture). The leaves are strewn with tiny black spickles like brush-flicks of tar. The foliage stands the weather well and is still hanging on in May when the spathes appear.
Hybrid vigour is manifest in the extreme here and as concinnatum is, itself, a large species, then you can expect these spathes to be in the region of 30cm long in mature plants.
The inside of the spathes is a lovely light pink, deriving from the cyrenaicum parent with little, pink dots which become more or less confluent (at least when viewed from a distance) in the throat area. The cyrenaicum parent is know from only three small populations in Crete and the hybrid occurs at just one of these, so it is very rare but in gardens this plant excels, growing well and making a good display each season.
Garden soil and sun is all it demands.
