Thaumatophyllum uliginosum
Thaumatophyllum uliginosum is one of the few Thaumatophyllum species with entire, smooth leaves with no lobing or divisions. Others like this are T. corcovadense and T. tweedianum. This plant is the third one of what I call the "big three" - so named because they all thrive with roots in marshy or submerged habitats. This characteristic is important in our quest for Thaumatophyllum hybrids that are resistant to Erwinia infections. Erwinia is the bane of many aroid species that cannot tolerate too much rain or moisture.
The plant shown above was photographed in a friend's plant collection.
The plant shown above is one that has leaves similar to the leaves on the plant I saw in my friend's collection, but the resemblance stops when you look closely at the stem of each of the two plants. This one I have nicknamed the "shark tooth" due to the numerous spines on the stem. These spines are very similar to little shark teeth, hence the nickname. A close-up of the young stem of this one is seen below.
Above see the bloom on my "shark tooth" Thaumatophyllum species. I have recently been informed that this plant may be T. brasiliense, but that ID needs further confirmation. Now having a true T. uliginosum in my breeding collection, the differences between these two plants are even more obvious to me.
| In the Lab | In the Field | The Species | Fruiting | The Hybrids |