Description
Thick, purple-blotched stem, clothed in patterned leaves. This can be tall, but the habit of the plant, in good light, is to produce foliage and inflorescence on short stems.
The inflorescence is extreme! Describing this is a true challenge. Imagine an Aardvark’s ear, in shades of flesh-pink and jade-green blotched all over with shades of purple and emerald. Inside, the base and edges are covered with red spickles and dots, and sprinkled with bristles. In the centre is a spadix like a rat’s tail, in green, covered with reddish, curling hairs.
Its scent is hard to describe with precision, because few people tarry near the objects that would supply adjectives. My best attempt would describe a mixture of well-aged carrion with a hint of sewage and an aftershock of silage. If any smell could possess viscosity, then this is that smell. It is certainly a talking point, though the smell is actually quite short-lived and the mature flower stays open and in condition long after the smell has vanished on the second day.
This likes a well-drained, preferably limey, soil in full sun. Possibly hardy in most of the UK and we have a small clump outside now since 2013 but you should expect it to perhaps be tender in a really severe winter. Returning to the positive however – we have over-wintered it here and they are still thriving outside. This plants is something that you should grow and experience once in a lifetime!
