Biarum bovei - inside
the flower was cut as part of an educational botanical excursion.
here you can see:
at the bottom - the female flowers at the bottom, hidden
above them - the sterile flowers that look like dark-red hairs
and at the top - the open stamens of the male flowers, with lots of pollen.
The autumnal "brother" of the Arum, Biarum pyrami is a short geophyte with flowers coming right out of the ground. the leaves will sprout later in the winter. the inflorescence is typical for the Arum family - a large dark spathe surrounding a long rachis. the flowers grow on the base of the rachis, in a closed "cup" created by the spathe. male flowers are above, female flowers below. the inflorescence have fowl smell, and it attracts flies that get caught in the "cup", get covered with pollen when.. more