cobra lily Units
Cobra Lily plants are composed of an underground tuber, rhizome or pseudo-rhizome (name for structures in plants such as Arisaema speciosum that are intermediate between tubers and rhizomes) that gives rise to a pseudostem (bearing leaves and inflorescences), or a petiole which only bears the blade. For pseudostemless species, the inflorescence emerges on a short stalk called a peduncle next to the leaf petiole. For species that have a pseudostem, the inflorescence emerges on top of or somewhere along a short stem, also called a peduncle. Cobra Lily tubers/rhizomes occur primarily in one of two shapes: discoid like a flying saucer (Arisaema ringens) or cigar-shaped (Arisaema speciosum).
Cobra Lily inflorescences (flower heads) consist of many parts, but the two most prominent are the spathe (pulpit) and the spadix (cat). The spathe is the pitcher and/or cap, while the spadix is the “stem” within the inflorescence that holds the sexual organs. In some species the spathe develops into a long thread-like tail, while in other species it is the spadix that copies this habit.
Based on their morphological traits, taxonomists have divided Cobra Lily species into several ten groups:
1. Section Arisaema: large three-lobed leaves with a long hanging tongue (spadix)
2. Section Atenuata – long spadices, central leaflet upturned on emergence
3. Section Dochafa – small yellow inflorescence
4. Section Fimbriata (Fimbriate Spathe Species)
5. Flagellarisaema section – long-tongued species (spadix)
6. Section Franchetiana – large tripartite leaves and flying saucer-shaped tuber
7. Section Pistillata (formerly Pedatisecta) – Species of pedate leaves
8. Section Sinarisaema – Species with radial leaves
9. Tortuous Section – long-tongued species (spadix)
10. Arisaema Hybrids
arisema sex
If you are the voyeuristic type, you will love Cobra Lily plants as they have one of the most unique sexual habits in the plant kingdom. Some Cobra Lily plants are male, some are female, some are both, and some switch back and forth (paradioecious). As a general rule, most arisemas are male when they are young, then when they accumulate enough energy to have babies, they change and become female. The year after giving birth (fruiting), they will often revert to being male. To ensure pollination and therefore the possibility of seed formation when you have several plants, you can damage a larger plant so that it returns weaker the next year as a male.
There are only a few commonly cultivated Arisaema species that always have both sexes on the same plant. These include Arisaema flavum (always), Arisaema tortuosum (when mature), Arisaema consanguineum (often when mature), Arisaema heterophyllum (when mature), and Arisaema dracontium (when mature, but not self-fertile). Most Cobra Lily species are dioecious (two houses), which means that the male and female live separately, so each inflorescence is either male or female.
Arisaema plants are beautiful in the forest garden with attractive leaves and a beautiful unusual flower. Every forest gardener should try them. They are easy to grow and generally cobra lily The plants are very carefree plants, when planted in the right place.