Dioscorea Elephantipes * 5 Seeds * Elephant Foot * Stunning Caudiciform * Rare *

THIS LISTING IS FOR 5 SEEDS OF DIOSCOREA ELEPHANTIPES Dioscorea elephantipes is one of the most beautiful, weird and wonderful, caudiciform plants around! It has a deeply fissured surface, resembling an elephant's foot, hence its common name. It makes a most interesting container plant. Dioscorea elephantipes is summer deciduous and is a perennial geophytic climber. In summer the leafless plant conserves energy by dropping its leaves in October, just before the onset of the summer heat. The plants are monoecious, that means the flowering sexes are found on separate plants. The stems grow in a climbing fashion. The leaves are heart-shaped. Male flowers are erect with spiny racemes. Female flowers are in spinescent, spreading spikes. Flowers are pale greenish yellow and normally appear in May or June. Seed is produced in September and October. The enlarged, exposed tuberous base is a water-storing organ, called a caudex . The caudex most often reaches a diameter of 60-90 cm, but sometimes 3 (or more) meter and is covered in tough armor-like plates. It produces a seasonal clinging growth up to 6 metres long. The leaves are heart-shaped. It bears small insignificant yellowish green flowers.