Arisaema speciosum

Arisaema speciosum is a bulbous perennial native to the greater Himalayan region from Nepal, through Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and the northern part of West Bengal in India, to Bhutan, Southern Tibet, Northern Myanmar and the Gaoligongshan area of Yunnan, China. It grows in warm temperate monsoon forest at elevations up to 3500m. It was first described by Nathaniel Wallich as Arum speciosum in 1824 and was then placed in the new genus Arisaema in 1832 by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius.

Arisaema speciosum has medium-sized chocolate-maroon coloured spathes with white stripes arranged in a vertical fan-shape. The tip of the spathe hood is elongated and often droops down and together with the long attenuated spadix appendage gives this Arisaema one of its common names, the Double Whip Cobra Lily. Before the spathe fully opens it often resembles the beaked silhouette of a long-beaked bird.

The leaves are dramatically exotic and have three large segments that are heavily rugose underneath and margined with red.

Arisaema speciosum does best in the dappled semi-shade of a woodland setting or - more imaginatively - a jungle garden. Like all Arisaemas it requires excellent drainage to ensure it survives the vagaries of a typically wet British winter and should be planted with plenty of sharp sand and coarse bark immediately surrounding the tubers. Beyond the nest of bark and sand, it will thrive in an organically-rich surrounding substrate with plenty of leaf mould and humus. There is no need to water it in the beginning of the growing season unless the Spring is unusually dry. Flowering begins in May and continues through into June and often later. A liquid organic fertiliser is beneficial at this time - liquid seaweed is ideal. All watering should stop in the Autumn as the foliage yellows and dies down and a thick mulch of bark applied before the first frosts.

Limited quantities available.