AMORPHOPHALLUS KIUSIANUS
PROTOLOGUE: Amorphophallus kiusianus (Makino) Makino, published in Botanical Magazine (Tokyo) 27: 244 (1913).
images
SYNONYMS:
HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS: Amorphophallus hirtus var. kiusianus (Makino) Hotta in Mem. Fac. Sci. Kyoto Univ., Ser. Biol. 4: 88 (1970) Amorphophallus konjac var. kiusianus Makino in Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 25: 16 (1911)
HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS: Amorphophallus sinensis Belval in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 80: 98 (1933)
OTHER NAMES: ヤマコンニャク (yama-konnyaku, Japanese — "Hill Konjac"); 东亚蘑芋 (dōngyà móyù, Chinese)
DISTRIBUTION: SE. China, Japan (Shikoku, S. Kyushu) to Taiwan: China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan.
DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Taiwan: first recorded by C.-I Peng in Taipei, Taichung, Miaoli and Nantou; Japan: Kyushu⁷ iNaturalist: Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, Zhejiang.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Tuber depressed-globose, to ca. 20 cm in diam., to ca. 12 cm high, no offset development. Leaf solitary; petiole smooth, to ca. 65 cm long, ca. 4 cm in diam., glossy, dirty olive-green or greyish green, with narrowly elongate, oval or irregular whitish or very pale greenish spots and numerous tiny dark green dots; lamina ca. 60-90 cm in diam.; leaflets elongate-elliptic to lanceolate, 6-20 cm long, 3-4.5 cm in diam., moderately to long-acuminate, margin undulate, upper side bright green with a narrow pale violet margin.⁴
INFLORESCENCE:
Inflorescence solitary, long-peduncled; peduncle as petiole, 40-100 cm long (in fruit to ca. 120 cm long), 1.5-4 cm in diam.; spathe triangular, base rounded, 9-25 cm long, ca. 4-13 cm in diam., shallowly or clearly constricted between base and limb, limb first oblique, then reflexing and bending downwards, margin reflexed or undulate, outside greenish pinkish or glossy dark purplish brown, with small, whitish spots, midrib and top occasionally green, margin greenish and with a narrow, reddish violet marginal line, inside pale pinkish with a purplish base or entirely dark brown, or with a greenish margin, the latter sometimes flushed pinkish, sometimes medially pale green, with rounded, whitish spots, base outside dark green or dark greenish brown, with small, rounded whitish spots and blackish green veins, base within dark purple and with numerous, ± distant conical warts, occasionally with small, whitish spots. Spadix sessile or subsessile, shorter than, equal to, or longer than spathe, 9-22 cm long; between male and female zone and on appendix short or long, flexuous hairs.⁴
ECOLOGY:
Found in shaded, semi-shaded, or sun-exposed places, in plantations; altitude: 300-850 m⁴
PROPAGATION:
Cuttings of this species proved difficult to root with our highest percentage of 8.3% obtained with late August cuttings. Even with proper timing, this was among the most difficult species to root.
ETYMOLOGY:
Derived from Kiusiu, an older European romanization of Kyushu, with the Latin suffix-anus, indicating association or origin. The epithet therefore refers to Kyushu in southern Japan, part of the species’ native range. Older botanical names often preserve historical romanizations that differ substantially from the spellings used for Japanese place names today. The species also occurs in Taiwan and southeastern China.
NOTES:
1. A close relative of Amorphophallus hirtus (see Amorphophallus hirtus). The elegant leaf, with its red-margined, elongate leaflets, makes this a highly ornamental species. Also the spathe is remarkably colorful and is outstanding because of the white spotted inner surface. When the inflorescence is left to develop after flowering, a striking infructescence develops without pollination. The berries are at first green, then turn bright lilac-pink and finally shiny deep blue.⁴
2. The taxonomic history of Amorphophallus kiusianus is quite confused, especially through publications of Mitsuru Hotta. In 1970 Hotta reclassified it as Amorphophallus hirtus var. kiusianus, and besides reducing Amorphophallus kiusianus to a variety he also merged with it the Taiwan endemic Amorphophallus henryi. In 1995 Hetterscheid and C.-I Peng cleared up the confusion, but found that Amorphophallus sinensis, published in 1933 by the French botanist Belval for plants from the Chinese mainland, was in fact conspecific with Amorphophallus kiusianus. The plants from the Chinese mainland are generally paler, and the spadix is usually longer than in the Japanese specimens.⁷
3. After a week it becomes noticeable that the female part of the spadix does in fact not wither but starts to swell and in a matter of three to four weeks the ovaries turn into green berries. Then, from the top of the fruiting part downwards, the berries start turning colour, first to bright lilac and then suddenly into a spectacular shining deep blue. The stage where half of the fruiting part is lilac, and the other blue is a sight to behold!⁷
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Amorphophallus kiusianus (Makino) Makino
2. Botanical Magazine (Tokyo) 27: 244 (1913) — protologue.
3. Alan Galloway — Amorphophallus kiusianus, alangallowaybotanicals.com.
4. Aroideana 19 (1996):P7 - 131
5. Flora of China: Amorphophallus kiusianus
6. iNaturalist: Amorphophallus kiusianus
7. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 2000 Vol. 17(1) pag. 9-13
8. Propagation of Amorphophallus by Leaf Petiole Cuttings — Juniper Level Botanic Garden
Additional photos by Gregory Mihaich Liang Shiming (梁士明) Maxine Chuang