Summer Seed Show

We usually don’t think of seed as being one of the more showy part of the plants, but that’s not the case with the Southeast Asian (Japan, China, Taiwan) native, Amorphophallus kiusianus. After flowering, these form a stunning seed head, usually atop a 2-3′ tall stalk. The berries first turn pink, then over a course of week, age to a stunning cobalt blue. All members of the aroid family use oxalic acid to reduce predation, so, if you handle the ripe seed without gloves, you’re likely to get the tingling feeling that you’ve been soaking your fingers in a bowl of glass chards. Once the tubers flower and set seed, they typically don’t send up any foliage until the following year. Hardiness is Zone 7a-10b, at least.