Plant comes in peace

The plant might look strange, but the whitespot giant arum has a lot of relatives.

By the Times staff
Published June 1, 2007

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LARGO -- With its pagoda-style front gates, Teakwood Village is one of Pinellas County's most distinctive mobile home parks, but even by neighborhood standards, the plant in Mary Miller's yard is striking.

Ron Griglione, who takes care of Miller's yard, said the mystery plant sprouted about a month ago from a spot where he had dug up a palm tree.

But as it grew, it looked nothing like the palm -- or anything else that Griglione or Miller had ever seen.

With its maroon and gold colors, cabbagelike leaves and leathery texture, the plant had an otherworldly appearance.

"I'm scared to even stand by this plant," said Griglione, 75, a retired automotive glass plant worker who called the Times for help with the mystery. "It looks like something from outer space."

It's nothing quite so exotic. The stranger is a specimen of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, also known as the whitespot giant arum or elephant yam, according to Pinellas County Cooperative Extension horticulturist Andy Wilson.

And get this: It comes from a genus encompassing 170 tropical and subtropical plants, some of which emit the scent of rotting flesh to attract insects.

So, Mr. Griglione, if you think it looks weird, wait till you smell it.