Gender change

[guy gusman]

Jim,

- First  with regard to A. candidissimum. We also got the white form from
Japanese friends. I don't know if they are rare in the wild but this form
had been lost and has now been rediscovered again; it seems now to be in
cultivation in Japan. There is a paper on this event in Curtis's Botanical
Magazine (May 1996); I send you a Xerox of this report.

As the "green and white" specimens seems to have a peculiar habitat, it's
probable they come true from seed, but I have no experience, I only have
the first ones in flower by now.
What is your opinion on a smelling inflorescence in this species? I never
noticed its presence.

- A. dracontium: to my knowledge only A. flavum has the strange habit of
being monoecious from its first flowering time. I never noticed this
behaviour in A. dracontium. By us, A. tortuosum has male inflorescences
when young before being bisexual.

- A. heterophyllum: the Korean plants have male or bisexual inflorescences.

The ratio male flowers/female ones can vary with time in species wich have
a bisexual inflorescence when adult (and in perfect conditions as in Roy's
garden).
I send you a definitive study on the gender change in A. dracontium, by K.
Clay who observed many specimens. Look at fig. 4, quite enlightening!
I don't have  P. Bierzychudek's paper and would be happy if getting a copy
of it.

Best regards,

Guy Gusman