Japanese Cobra Lily

Description:

Arisaema is a genus of about 150 species in the flowering plant family They are members of the aroid family, a group of exotic flowering shade plants that includes philodendron and calla lilies. There are some Arisaema species native to the US but the majority hail from Asia. Arisaema are known by the common names of jack-in-the-pulpit or cobra lily, depending on the style of the inflorescence. Arisaema urashima. This species has broad, multi-divided leaves similar to A. heterophyllum. A dark brown whip-like spadix snakes out of the maroon and white striped spathe. (syn: Arisaema thunbergii ssp. urashima) Each 15" tall, dusty purple stalk of Arisaema urashima is topped by one horizontal leaf with 11-15 narrow leaflets (wider than Arisaema thunbergii) radiating out from a central horseshoe-shaped base. In mid-spring, the flower emerges from the main stalk with a purple pitcher. The top cover narrows to a point that hangs over the front of the pitcher and from inside emerges a purple, whip-like tail extending upward to nearly 18".

Habitat:

seen growing by a path in a shaded hilly coastal region of Japan

Notes:

wondering if this might be Arisaema kiushianum (Japanese Cobra Lily) or maybe Arisaema urashima. There seem to be 40 odd varieties of this plant, many of which can be seen here: http://www.plantdelights.com/Arisaema/pr...