Where is the dracunculus vulgaris found

In the wild it is found growing in clefts in rocky gorges and along waterways, on wasteground, scrub or on the margins of olive groves, ekeing out moisture in an otherwise hot and dry environment. Large clumps are a magnificent sight and even without its extraordinary inflorescence it is a wonderful foliage plant with a dramatic and distinctly tropical feel to it.

It is relatively easy to cultivate in the UK and an extremely rewarding plant that is always a talking point. Each tuber sends up its robust shoots in early Spring, usually in March - although in the South or in particularly warm weather it is often as early as February - and they grow rapidly to form thick torpedo-shaped pseudostems, speckled with infinitely-varied markings, from which the pale green and usually-marbled foliage emerges.

At this stage, being nearly a metre tall and top-heavy with leaves, they are vulnerable to being blown down by sudden gusts of wind so care should be taken during any particularly strong Spring gales. By mid-Spring the large inflorescence begins to emerge in the form of a huge elongated bud. It gets bigger by the day with its leading edge slowly colouring to a deep maroon until finally, it unfurls and there it is: the Dragon Arum, one of the most dramatic and curiously-unsettling floral displays you will ever see.

The long glistening purplish-black spadix protudes from the raw-flesh coloured spathe like the tongue of some licentious goblin and as this is another aroid that attracts flies to do its pollinating the smell it gives off is a remarkably close facsimile of rotting meat. Almost every year it manages to catch me out: knowing full well it is flowering I still find myself wondering whether there is some dead animal lying around in the garden before I remember it is only the Dracunculus doing its thing.

Spread: 1. Bloom Time: June to July. Bloom Description: Maroon purple. Sun: Full sun to part shade. Maintenance: Low. Garden locations. Culture Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Noteworthy Characteristics Dracunculus vulgaris , commonly called dragon arum, is a tuberous herbaceous perennial that is native to rocky areas and hillsides in the central to eastern Mediterranean areas from Greece to the Balkans to Turkey.

Problems No serious insect or disease problems. Uses Shady garden areas. Thank You! Endlicher, Melet. Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: Govaerts, R. World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae and Acoraceae : The genera Dracunculus and Helicodiceros Araceae: Aroideae. Kew Backbone Distributions Dobignard, D.

Brief description Bulbous deciduous herb with erect palmate leaves. Large red-purple aroid inflorescence. Features Bulbous deciduous herb with erect palmate leaves borne on petioles and sheaths spotted and streaked in red, green, black; lamina green with white-ish spots.