Arum Cornutum Care

Names

• This tropical flowering plant is of the Araceae, or lily family. The trade name is Arum cornutum, and the scientific name is Sauromatum venosum or Sauromatum guttatum. Genetic studies encouraged a change of the scientific name in 2000, when chromosome studies encouraged classification of Sauromatum venosum as a Typhonium. Later studies returned to the Sauromatum venosum classification in 2010. Locating information for care of this plant may require all of these names, as you may see Typhonium venosum, Sauromatum venosum or Sauromatum guttatum as the scientific name.

Location

• Arum cornutum needs shade to thrive. You can grow these lilies in a container garden or in a shaded area of your yard if you live in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 7 to 11. Plant away from the house and about 6 inches deep in rich, well-drained soil. Don’t try to grow this plant indoors. You’ll be looking for the stinky smell when it blooms, as it has the odor of a dead animal the first days of flowering. It also attracts bugs and beetles. This plant has a spathe or wrapped leaf shape around a long center stalk called the spadix. The anthurium and calla lily are other examples of this shape. Plant in a sheltered or protected area, and if you live in USDA hardiness zones 7 to 9, you may want to dig the bulbs in the winter and place in a cool, dry place until time to replant in the spring.

Life Cycle

• The active plants die back in the winter months but develop a single shoot in the late spring to early summer. Once the flower head or spadix has grown for about a month, a speckled leaf that is the spathe erupts from the soil. The flower may be as tall as 36 inches, but only about an inch wide. The leaf is wider, maybe 2 inches. You’ll need to stake the flower with a yardstick or dowel. Successful pollination results in a cycle of green arrowhead leaves followed by berries at the base of the center stalk after the leaves are gone.

Caution

• The bulbs will rot if overwatered or planted in poor drainage. Water when rainfall doesn’t provide about an inch of water per week for your voodoo lily. Water early in the day to avoid plant stress and discourage fungi growth. These plants have chemical substances used for medicinal purposes in India, according to a report by Southern Illinois University, so keep your pets and children from rubbing against them or eating them. Voodoo lily is a sapromyophilous plant, or one that emits a stench when flowering. The odor attracts bugs and beetles for pollination, another reason to keep children and pets away from this exotic lily when it blooms.