Dragon Arum (Dracunculus vulgaris)

General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit:	Herb/Forb
Life cycle:	Perennial
Sun Requirements:	Full Sun to Partial Shade
Soil pH Preferences:	Neutral (6.6 – 7.3) Slightly alkaline (7.4 – 7.8) Moderately alkaline (7.9 – 8.4)
Minimum cold hardiness:	Zone 6b -20.6 °C (-5 °F) to -17.8 °C (0 °F)
Plant Height:	36 to 78 inches (.9-2 m)
Leaves:	Unusual foliage color
Fruit:	Showy Edible to birds Other: Berries orange-red when ripe.
Flowers:	Showy Malodorous
Flower Color:	Other: Highly variable. Spathe purple to white, white with purple markings or light yellow. Spadix dark purple shades to blackish to yellow.
Bloom Size:	Over 12"
Flower Time:	Late spring or early summer Other: Seasonal.
Underground structures:	Tuber
Resistances:	Rabbit Resistant
Toxicity:	Other: All parts of plant contain calcium oxalate crystals, an irritant to the mouth and esophagus. Toxic to cats and dogs.
Propagation: Seeds:	Other info: Remove seed from berry which contains chemicals that inhibit germination.
Propagation: Other methods:	Division Offsets
Miscellaneous:	Goes Dormant
Conservation status:	Least Concern (LC)

Conservation status:

Common names

Dragon Arum
Voodoo Lily
Dragon Flower
Black Lily
Viagra Lily

Botanical names

Accepted: Dracunculus vulgaris
Synonym: Dracunculus creticus

Photo Gallery

Uploaded by plantcollector

Location: Crete - Mili Gorge
Date: 2022-05-31

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: z6a MA, my garden
Date: 2017-09-08

Uploaded by eclayne

Location: z6a MA, my garden
Date: 2014-07-22
I didn't notice an odor while taking the photos. Very noticeable

Uploaded by eclayne

Location: z6a MA, my garden
Date: 2014-07-2
Flies swarming. #Pollination

Uploaded by eclayne

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: Crete - Mili Gorge
Date: 2022-05-31
Many specimen in various stages of bloom

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by Hazelcrestmikeb

Location: RHS Harlow Carr, Yorkshire, UK
Date: 2020-06-27

Uploaded by kniphofia

Location: West Valley City, UT
Date: 2010-07-30

Uploaded by Zencat

Location: Conway ,Arkansas USA
Date: April 28,2013
Arum Dracunculus in my back yard!

Uploaded by BethLancasterWh

Location: My own garden
Date: 2016-03-25

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: z6a MA, my garden
Date: 2017-09-12
Fall roots starting.

Uploaded by eclayne

Location: Western Kentucky
Date: 2012-07-13

Uploaded by Sharon

Location: Botanical Garden of Barcelona
Date: 2019-04-22

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: Botanical Garden Stockholm
Date: 2016-03-25

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: My greenhouse, near Lincoln UK
Date: 2008-06-10
Successfully kept in a greenhouse in the UK, until the harsh wint

Uploaded by JRsbugs

Uploaded by longk

Uploaded by longk

Uploaded by robertduval14

Location: San Francisco
Date: 2018-05-27
Found growing in SF back yard

Uploaded by circe

Location: West Valley City, UT
Date: 2008-05-31

Uploaded by Zencat

Location: Western Kentucky
Date: 2012-05-23

Uploaded by Sharon

Location: Western Kentucky
Date: 2012-05-04

Uploaded by Sharon

Location: Botanical garden of Barcelona (Spain)

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Uploaded by Zencat

Uploaded by robertduval14

Location: z6a MA, my garden
Date: 2016-04-07

Uploaded by eclayne

Location: z6a MA, my garden
Date: 2014-04-28
All three (one is in a different location) overwintered just fine

Uploaded by eclayne

Uploaded by kniphofia

Location: z6a MA, my garden
Date: 2014-06-23

Uploaded by eclayne

Location: RHS Harlow Carr, Yorkshire, UK
Date: 2019-04-19

Uploaded by kniphofia

Uploaded by kniphofia

Location: Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid
photo credit: Cillas

Uploaded by robertduval14

Uploaded by admin

Uploaded by admin

Uploaded by admin

Location: RHS Harlow Carr, Yorkshire, UK
Date: 2019-06-30

Uploaded by kniphofia

Location: West Valley City, UT
Date: 2019-04-19
2 years from seed

Uploaded by Zencat

Uploaded by robertduval14

This plant is tagged in:

Comments:

Posted by eclayne (Pioneer Valley south, MA, USA - Zone 6a) on Mar 25, 2014 10:33 PM concerning plant:

Native to the eastern Mediterranean, D. vulgaris grows in limestone soils on the Greek Island of Crete. In some locations the different inflorescence colors are found growing together in one community. Spathe color can vary from dark purple-red to red tinged white to white. Spadix colors vary from a nearly black-purple to yellow.

Sources note providing pH 7.5 will benefit the plant, as will regular feeding. This might explain the mediocre growth I've had with mine. Time to move and amend the soil.

Blooming in late June early July, mine went dormant by the end of July.

Reply to this comment
Posted by BethLancasterWh (Conway, Arkansas) on Jun 5, 2013 11:44 PM concerning plant:

I find the life cycle way too short! Beautiful, but stinky!

Reply to this comment

Plant Events from our members
eclayne	On July 12, 2015	Bloomed
eclayne	On July 3, 2014	Bloomed
longk	On March 5, 2017	Plant emerged

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Discussion Threads about this plant

Thread Title	Last Reply	Replies
ID: Dracunculus vulgaris by RuuddeBlock	Nov 21, 2018 11:40 AM	2

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Dracunculus Dragon Arum (Dracunculus vulgaris)

Dracunculus
Dragon Arum (Dracunculus vulgaris)