Arisaema are coming

[Gusman Guy]

> Hello to all,
>
> I have recently come back from a trip through a few
>of the southeastern states and saw Arisaema
>triphyllum, A.t.quinatum, and A. dracontium all in the
>wild.
> At all the sites I saw A.t.quinatum the regular
>triphyllum had there inflorescenses begining to fade
>and quinatum was still unfurling its leaves with its
>inflorescence still tightly rolled.
> Is it really a variety of triphyllum or is it
>deserving of species status? I know that urashima has
>variety/subsp. autumnale that flowers later,
>obviously. I found a quinate form of triphyllum here
>in Kansas last summer and transplanted it into the
>garden. This year it has come up the same time as all
>my other triphyllum and has normal leaves, and not
>single quinatum is showing yet.
> Anyway, just not understanding why all the Asian
>species and slightly different forms deserve species
>status and the Americans don't. Stewardsonii? Still 2
>weeks until its awakening.
> Aaron Floden
> Z5 Kansas
>
Dear Aaron,
What you say about A. quinatum is exactly what we noticed. The presence of a 5-foliolate leaf is not a stable character. That's why Treiber, in his study of A. triphyllum (1980, PhD Thesis), includes A. quinatum in subsp. pusillum, a plant from SE USA.
On the other hand, A. stewardsonii, is quite different and deserves a subspecies status. In our collection also, it flowers later than A. triphyllum subsp. triphyllum.
Best regards.
G. Gusman