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Hi Arsenic! So glad to meet you. I posted a series of 3 photos of this mystery plant showing all aspects. Yes it is pretty dark, but I had a poor camera at the time.
The plant is about 28" tall, the leaf stalk is green with mottled purplish-brown, lighter at the base. It was sold with the incorrect name, and the nursery is unable to properly identify it also. It is a local one, and they do not have any aroid experts on staff. The bulbs came bulk from a Netherlands distributer is the only information they had for me. I purchased it in spring '98, and it bloomed this year for the first time, but new ones appeared this summer in relatively far away places from the original plant, making it even more puzzling. One is about 30' away, another one is about 200' away, and in the front of the house, rather than the rear as the parent.
Oh, nothing at all like any Sauromatum I was able to find; neither like any Amorphophalus either. I tried to get a photo, but the developer messed up the whole roll.
The spathe was very high, about 20" tall, very dark maroon (looked black). The top inch had the spadix, it was open not hooded. I could not see any pistil or stamen or any other organs. No seed set. I think rodents (we have many squirrels moles and voles) dig up bulbs and re-plant them in various places. I continually have bulbs come up in very odd places, and find new plants as well as lose old ones to neighbors.
I am bringing back up to the top the other 2 views of this plant, maybe it will help ID it better.
I so much appreciate your help. Very few good aroid books that I can find locally; almost none have good photos that I can compare with what I have.
Evert, which species? I am have only seen photos of 5 different species, and none of them are even close to what I have. Almost all books (and Internet photos) show only the flowers or seedpods; that sure doesn't help me much. None of the flowers I have seen of the Sauromatums are remotely similar to what mine did. So frustrating.
The bulbs must have been collected from the wild, and the gatherer didn't name this one correctly. I am half-tempted to send a bulb to one of my expert friends in US for her to grow. Perhaps that is the only way I will ever know for sure.
Do you have seeds from yours Evert? Can you perhaps send me some in exchange for some of mine? Please? Not of this one, but something else catch your fancy?
I am growing S. venosum, I think it is synonyme for S. guttatum. They haven't bloomed this year, I got the bulbs on early spring. Last year I had one blooming, but I kept it inside so no flies could pollinate it. My Amorphophallus has started to grow, I hope it is not going to bloom ;)
I agree with Evert (he was right all along:); it is a sauromatum. The leaf structure matches; and the only other aroids I can think of that looks similar are taller than yours:
