Pinellia peltata

This rarely seen Pinellia, native to the eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, is one of the more unusual members of an already rare and obscure genus. The glossy, peltate, fresh green leaves (like a heart-shaped plate balanced on a stick) produce the plant in a wide clump. From late spring, the clumps are adorned with lime green spathes and inflorescences... resembling an “anorexic ET” with a long, creamy-yellow, whip-like tongue. In hot dry climates, Pinellia peltata will go dormant in summer. In areas with cool night temperatures, they will form stolons that dive and re-emerge from the ground like a sea snake, each ending in a new bulb (tuber) at the tip.

Names:
Latin: Pinellia peltata
Dutch: Kleine Drakenlelie
English: Pinellia peltata