mouse plant
Arisarum proboscideum
I first encountered this amazing plant a couple weeks back while having lunch at Demitasse Cafe in Oak Bay. While eating my soup and sandwich I hummed and hawed and eventually decided to bring this strange specimen home with me. (As if there was any doubt) Although it would be well suited for the woodland section of my garden I thought better of it and planted it in a pot in the front.
Arisarum proboscideum is an aroid which makes it a relative of the philodendron and the voodoo lily. It’s leaves are remincicent of any other arum I’ve ever encountered before being that it’s leaves are shaped like the head of an arrow. Arisarum proboscideum is native to Spain and Italy and grows naturally in moist sheltered woodlands. The plant spreads via tuberous rhizome and in the right conditions naturalizes with ease. Some go as far as saying it can be invasive but this seems to be the less preached opinion. The mouse plant flowers in early spring up until summer then goes dormant until things cool off. This aroid has evolved over the millenium to do a interesting little trick. It’s flower’s mimic a mushroom fungus, both with smell and it’s white spongy design to lure in unlikely pollinators. It’s spring flowers “coincidentally” coincide with the first spring generation of ready to breed female fungus gnats. The gnats are tricked into laying their eggs inside of the flower head where they inadvertently pick up the plant’s pollen and carry it out with them to other arisarums.
Fascinating!
The mouse plant is hardy from zones 6-9 (with some protection) and is a welcome oddity to the garden. If you have the choice you might want to consider planting it in a raised bed so you get a better view of it’s strange little flowers. On the ground the flowers are covered with a dense coat of leaves and can sometimes be missed. Keep it moist but not waterlogged as there have been stories that letting it dry out could induce a premature dormancy. After you have an established clump the plant is easily divided for you and your friends. Great conversation plant, for both the young and the old.
Some information about this post was found in the book “Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family by Deni Bown”
Welcome to another episode of Plant Hoarding. Here I will walk you through my latest plant purchases necessary or otherwise. As Saturday morning rolled around I promptly found myself touring Victoria’s Garden Centers. I started with breakfast at Demitasse then moved onto Gardenworks Oak Bay, Garden Works Blenkisop, Elk Lake Garden Center and Brentwood Bay Nurseries. You’d think that I’d be cured after working at a plant nursery for 40 hours a week, oddly still this only fuels the fire.
I spent the day with my girlfriend, drinking coffee, gawking at the strange and unusual, and admiring the great spring selection. Although a small box of plants found it’s way home with me I will admit I showed an amazing amount of discretion . There were a lot of nice specimens to be had, and I managed to ween it down to a meager 8 plants. Wow…
In this weeks plant binge.
Arisarum proboscideum otherwise known as a Mouse Plant. It’s an amazing little plant what with it’s wispy tail, and strange flower head. I look forward to researching it further.
Aeonium (?domesticum?) A dwarf variegated aeonium. I need more frost tender succulents like a hole in the head. Alas I love them!
Euphorbia (?milii var. splendens?) I’ve been looking to buy a crown of thorns for quite some time now. I’m very happy with this find. Crown of thorns are amazing plants, disguised as a boring old houseplant. They grow up to 2 feet tall in the home, constantly flower and impress with their unusual prickly form.
Gardenworks, Walmart, and a variety of other stores sell these 2″ tropicals at a serious bargain price. At the low price of $1.50 a plant, it’s a great deal for small specimens. After all as a plant collector do you really care about the size of the plant. I have nothing but time to watch these little guys grow, it’s part of the fun.
Also included in the mix but without closeup photograph is a Tillandsia Stricka (air plant) and a 4″ pot of neon pink saxifraga.
Just Because!
More plant news to come!
