W
University of Washington
UW Botanic Gardens Logo Elisabeth C. Miller Library logo

3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle, WA 98195 | (206) 543 0415 | Open Monday 9-8; Tuesday - Friday 9-5; Saturday 9-3

 

Gardening Answers Knowledgebase

Search Results for ' Dracunculus'

PAL Questions: 1 - Garden Tools:

Display all answers | Hide all answers

 

Keywords: Dracunculus

PAL Question:

I recently purchased a house that has a relative of the corpse plant in the yard. It is a perennial about 30" tall and has been in bloom since yesterday with a deep burgundy bloom that is about 10" long. It has delicate, deeply lobed leaves.

Any idea what it could be or how to care for it? I was considering transplanting it since it sits just below our dining room window, under the eave of the house. Stinky! I imagine it will only bloom for a short time. Could it be rare?

View Answer:

I am guessing that what you have is the voodoo lily, or Dracunculus vulgaris.

The website of a Pacific Northwest gardener, Paghat, has information about this plant with pictures for you to compare with the plant in your garden. Vanderbilt University also has images of this plant on its Bioimages page.

For contrast, here are images of corpse flower, Amorphophallus titanum.

According to The Royal Horticultural Society's A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants edited by Christopher Brickell (DK Publishing, 1996) the plant you have is frost-hardy, and grows best in full sun but will tolerate partial shade. You can protect it with a winter mulch. Native to the Mediterranean, Madeira, and the Canary Islands, they grow well in open glades in sheltered woodland, or at the base of a sunny wall. From what I have heard from other gardeners (we receive several questions a year about this plant), they do spread over time. If you wish to increase their numbers, they can be propagated by separating offsets in fall or spring.

Season All Season
Date 2007-06-15
Link to this record only (permalink)

 

Didn't find an answer to your question? Ask us directly!

Browse keywords or Search Again:

We are continually adding new questions, so be sure to keep coming back.

April 19 2012 16:02:30