Unknown arum

[anita]

Hi,
Can anybody identify this arum? As I'm in the Southern Hemisphere it's an autumn bloomer. It's about 45 cm tall and the leaves are strongly arrow-shaped. There's no appreciable scent.

Thanks Anita

[Pascal B]

Anita, your Arum is either Arum concinnatum or Arum hygrophilum. Given the yellow appendix and more "open" and broad spathe I would not opt for Arum concinnatum as the most likely ID. Concinnatum has the classic arrow shaped leaves, hygrophilum has the unusual habit of having the lateral sides of the leaf spread more outwards and curl against eachother at the base of the leaf.

[Oron Peri]

Anita
It is Arum hygrophilum.

Pascal, A. concinnatum has a yellow spadix, and generally it set flowers by the end of its growth season when leaves start to dry out.
Also the shape of the spathe is quite different.

[Pascal B]

Oops......, I meant one thing and said the other, forgetting the "not" after the "would".... I better leave multitasking to people who can...

Oron, I agree with you but just one note though, although concinnatum in general has a yellow appendix, it is very variable (in contrast to hygrophilum) and does occur with purple appendices plus has forms with the same purple edge of the spathe blade. I have grown this species in the past and it also does flower at the middle or end of its growing season, dependant on the growing conditions.

[Oron Peri]

Pascal thank you for the information,
seen only yellow and orangy colored spadix in the wild in some of the Greek Islands,
often with the spathe's purplish edges as you describe.
I think drying out the leaves before flowering has a reason, because in some of the arums the many large leaves block insects from accessing the flowers, other species lower down the leaves while blooming such as the case of Arum dioscoridis.

[Ezeiza]

Oron, that is fascinating.