This plant has been quietly growing in a dark corner of our back yard ever since we bought the house. I was only able to identify the species after it flowered for the first time this year since we moved in over 12 years ago! Turns out it’s a Voodoo Lily (one of many monikers) and its dramatic beauty is offset by the fact that it apparently stinks to high heaven. I’ve actually avoided smelling it, so I can’t say how bad the odor is.

We have one small colony of these plants in a very shady spot, which is probably why we haven’t seen flowers until now. It prefers part sun to sun – the shaded plants tend to fall over. Now that I know what it is, I plan to dig up the tubers and try them out in more favorable locations. But I’ve learned that these will readily self-seed so I’m going to propagate conservatively.