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Arisaema exappendiculatum

A tall species (60-120cm) with snakeskin-mottled stems bearing a leaf divided into a circular parasol of about 8, broad, wavy-edged leaflets. The "flower" held below is purple and white tightly wrapped around on emergence, to make what looks like a conical bud but unfurling a little to a purple and white striped tubular spathe which still hides the spadix appendix. The "invisibility" of the spadix is what gives the plant its mouthful of a name.

The striking foliage and rather distinctive flowers set this quietly attractive species apart.

It soon makes clumps by means of underground increase and by stolons that can pop up 40cm away. May. Garden soil, in half shade is idea but not a difficult plant. Nepal and Indian Himalayas.

Arisaema lichiangense

To most eyes this looks to be a fascinating green and brown candidissimum. In shape and size it resembles the white and pink forms of that species down to the lovely rose-scent of the flowers.

It differs in that it has white, brown and green spathes with green stripes set around a narrower deep green-bronze to chocolate spadix.

Cultivation is as for candidissimum (and its allies) and like those plants, it appears above ground late in the season. A splendid plant easily grown out in the garden and better there than being 'fussed' in a pot!

Arisaema peninsulae

Arisaema peninsulae has strong, mid-green foliage sub-divided into short, broad leaflets. In some forms of this plant the leaves can be lined, zoned or speckled with paler or darker shade of green.

The leaves are held below a short stem with a stout inflorescence of distinctly yellowish green (the colour of a lime in the process of ripening!) which is lined with white. The lid of the spathe is rolled back to reveal a shiny green interior.

The 'lid' of the spathe extends stiffly forward to cover the fat and stout, yellow spadix which has a noticeably expanded end. This is not quite the pestle shape of e.g. sikokianum, but it is more like a very large Bengal match-head.

Easy in the garden and fully hardy here under light woodland conditions, such as it grows in, in its native Japan.Flowers dependably in a well-drained, leafy loam.

Not common and we have not been able to offer this since 1999.

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Large view

Arisaema urashima

An elegant dwarf Japanese species which makes its good-sized spathe quite close to the ground. This is white speckled with purple-brown at the base, darkening to purple at the very "flared" mouth. The two regions being connected with lines of purple dots.

The spathe wraps around an elongated chocolate spadix that winds up and out of the spathe and finally makes its way down to the ground.

Thrives in the garden, in a light, leafy soil preferably in half-shade and hardy here.

Eucomis pole-evansii Bronze

This is a new form, only released in 2006. It is a variation which has occurred in cultivation but which has subsequently been propagated for the gardener.

The leaves are tinged brown whilst the normally greenish-white flower spike is also tinted bronze and the flowers themselves are verging on soft brown. On paper it may not sound impressive but 'in the flesh' it is a remarkable colour variation of the true species (not a hybrid).

Growth is as for the normal type in a well-drained, loam-based compost in a large pot or bedded out under glass. As they can be lifted and stored dry over winter it may be possible to grow this majestic species outside, as summer bedding, in the increasingly mild climate.

Habenaria radiata

The flying egret orchid of Japan is a superbly beautiful little hardy plant with slender growths and disproportionately large flowers of pure white, with fringed tepals which look just like their namesake, in flight.

They grow from TINY tubers, this is natural, it is the way they are but I need to stress their naturally small size, lest you are disappointed when you see them.

In the right conditions they are easy and propagate readily. They like a compost based on sphagnum moss (living is best) with some sand added or one consisting of coarse sand with some peat mixed in. The compost should be wet but must be VERY free-draining. They will sometimes do well in conditions which also suit some carnivorous plants.

Hymenocallis festalis

A horticultural cross of the Mexican H. narcissiflora with H. longipetala from Peru.

Large pure white, very strongly scented flowers are made in spikes on 45cm tall stems. Each bloom has lovely spiralling, recurved petals around a central cone.

An excellent cut flower and an easy and reliable pot subject with a delicious scent in the evening, to add to its obvious beauty.

Hymenocallis harrisiana

Nice bulbs of a lovely fragrant Mexican species with large white flowers in the summer. The petals are long, thin and twisted and give the flowers a spidery appearance quite unlike any other.

Easily grown in the conservatory, or out in the garden if lifted and dried in October for a warm dry winter rest.

Hymenocallis longipetala

(Elisena longipetala)

A phenomenal Peruvian bulb. Broad shining leaves and in early summer, an exotic-looking flower with an elongated trumpet surrounded by six long curling white petals.

Beautifully fragrant and not difficult in a conservatory, in a 20cm pot, dried off over the winter, top-dressed and started again in the spring.

Remusatia hookeriana

In the wild this grows on shady slopes, mossy rocks and a foot or so up tree trunks at the soil junction of trees.

It flowers late in spring but before the trees leaf-up. Sometimes flowers along with the newly developing leaves. The leaves are strongly coloured along the veins but underneath they are a mix of light and dark purple. Flowers are gently and pleasantly fragrant.

Best in a free-draining rich organic compost. Winter dormant and can be stored cool and dry after leaf fall in the autumn.

Naturally makes a small tuber which increases by the production of small tuberlets on the end of stolons, which in the wild would be wind-distributed. N. India to Sikkim.

Remusatia pumila

This has smaller leaves which cluster together, these have a red tinge to them on both the upper and lower surfaces (stronger coloured below) and as they are pale yellow-green when they first emerge so they produce something of a sympathetically-coloured tropical-rainbow effect. They certainly look very exotic and are quite excellent teamed with the other species for a patio plant.

The flower spathes in this species whilst not conspicuous and not unattractive are cream rather than yellow with a very elongated spathe extension.

Free-draining, rich, organic compost. Leaves off in autumn and once the tuber has matured, a dry cool winter dormant session gets the plant ready to growth again in spring.

Remusatia vivipara

An easy species which has small, decorative aerial bulbils covered in tiny red hooks, by which means it has become more widespread. Hardy in California.

The inflorescence lasts almost three weeks and is a bright yellow furled spathe, recognisable as an Aroid at once, even to the novice. It has a not unpleasant smell, a little like damp moss or leaf mould. The leaves grow 30-40cm long and a little less broad and look very tropical, being shiny and pleated, with prominent veins.

This plant adores moist, fertile, slightly acidic soil and can even grow as a bog plant as long as drainage is good. It will also grow as an epiphyte, that is how versatile it is, though it is best not dried out between waterings.

Spathantheum orbignyanum

Spathantheum orbignyanum comes from the temperate Andes. Our stock is grown from seed collected in Bolivia at 3,000m near Tarabuco. It is winter-dormant and should be stored totally dry and frost-free until the last vestiges of freezing weather have passed.

It makes a strange, half-nodding, elongated inflorescence of bright lizard green with small, deep chrome yellow flowers along its length. The inflorescence is followed by a large, deep-green, shiny leaf with deep pinnate lobes, a little like a Monstera. This is very exotic in appearance, especially once mature, when it can be 30cm x 45cm.

It can be grown under glass, though it does not like its growing conditions to be too hot, wet or humid, it is a temperate species, not a tropical. I think garden growth gives the best results. It should be planted late, when the risk of severe frost is low, this is early May with us. It will do well in a well-drained, humus rich soil in half shade, in contrast to its wild occurrences. It must be lifted and dried ahead of the returning cold in autumn.