Gabon Flower

This week marked our annual flowering of the endangered African aroid, Pseudohydrosme gabunensis ‘Stained Glass’, which we first flowered in 2021. Kew Gardens recently posted that they just flowered it for the first time ever in the UK. This tropical African rain forest genus is comprised of only three species, all from the countries of Gabon, Cameron, and the Republic of Congo. In late winter/early spring, these crazy flowers that look like someone threw up in their tuba, emerge without any foliage. After flowering, the tuber rests before sending out 4′ tall spiny fleshy stalks, topped with palm-like foliage. After its original discovery in 1881, no collectors were able to find Pseudohydrosma gabunensis again, until two specimens were located in 1973. Since that time, a small number have since been discovered in The Republic of Congo, although it remains exceptionally rare. Our specimen was seed grown, from the first known seed set in cultivation in Leiden, Holland in 2013.