Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum) on 5-10-10, #55-5.
Dragon Arum
Dracunculus vulgaris
drak-UN-koo-lus vul-GAIR-iss
Synonyms of Dracunculus vulgaris (12) (Updated on 11-24-23 from Plants of the World Online): Aron dracunculum (L.) St.-Lag. (1880), Arum dracunculus L. (1753), Arum guttatum Salisb. (1796), Dracunculus creticus Schott (1860), Dracunculus dracunculus (L.) Voss (1895), Dracunculus major Garsault (1764), Dracunculus polyphyllus Blume (1836), Dracunculus spadiceus Raf. (1837), Dracunculus vulgaris var. creticus (Schott) Nyman (1882), Dracunculus vulgaris subsp. creticus (Schott) K.Richt. (1890), Dracunculus vulgaris var. elongatus Engl. (1879), Dracunculus vulgaris var. laevigatus Engl. (1879)
Dracunculus vulgaris Schott is the correct and accepted scientific name for this plant. It was first described as such by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott in Meletemata Botanica in 1832 It was first described as Arum dracunculus by Carl von Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753.
The genus, Dracunculus Mill., was named and described by Philip Miller in the fourth edition of Gardener’s Dictionary in 1754.
As of 11-24-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online by Kew still lists only two accepted species in the Dracunculus genus. It is a member of the plant family Araceae with 142 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.
THERE ARE A FEW LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum) on 4-15-12, #86-30.
I bought my Dracunculus vulgaris from an Ebay seller in the spring of 2010.
Dracunculus have neat palmately divided, fan-shaped leaves growing on top of a petiole. Each leaf, up to 10” long, grows 7-19 elliptical leaflets supposedly resembling the claws of a dragon (in someone’s mind). *Leaves are sometimes streaked with white (which are transparent). The petiole, or pseudostem, is black or purple-spotted. Unlike the Amorphophallus, more than one leaf grows from each pseudostem.
*Note: I am not an expert, but “I think” the plant here could have possibly been a Sauromatum venosum instead of Dracunculus vulgaris… I will look into it, but I think the white markings on the leaves are a characteristic of Dracunculus vulgaris. Sauromatum venosum has leaves that are similar without the white markings. I bought Sauromatum venosum rhizomes in 2021, so we shall see how they do…
Although mine never flowered, they have a long maroon-purple spathe that can grow up to 20” long. The smell is said to resemble rotten meat which attracts flies for pollination and may last just one day. The spadix is black which is sometimes longer than spathe. It contains unisexual flowers, with the female at the bottom and the male on top.
Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum) on 4-15-12, #86-31.
Plants should be mulched for winter protection in USDA Zones 7-11. In cooler zones, the bulbs should be dug up and stored in a cool dark place such as a basement. I think if you grow them in pots you just bring the whole pot inside.
USEFUL INFORMATION:
TYPE: Tuberous herbaceous perennial
FAMILY: Araceae
ORIGIN: Central and Eastern Mediterranean
SIZE: It may depend on your location, some websites say 2-3’ tall and others 3-6 feet tall.
ZONES: USDA Zones 5b-9b (-15 to 25 °F), some websites sat 7-10. Plants should be mulched for winter protection. North of zone 6, bulbs should be dug and stored inside.
LIGHT: Part shade to sun
WATER: Medium
SOIL: Average, well-drained soil with medium moisture.
FLOWERS: Maroon/purple in late spring to early summer (MBG says June-July)
PROPAGATION: By dividing bulbs, by seed.
*This plant is reported to be poisonous if ingested, so you may want to use gloves when working with it. Be sure to wash your hands.
Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Arum) on 1-27-13, #138-2.
Regretfully, I left my Dracunculus behind when I moved from Mississippi back to the family farm in mid-Missouri in February 2013. I sold the mansion to a group who turned it into a bed and breakfast. I have often wondered what became of this plant. You can bet one day I will buy another.
I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant. If you notice I made an error, please let me know.
The Belmont Rooster 