ABSTRACT
Sauromatum guttatum Schott (Araceae) is usually assumed to be native to northwestern India and Pakistan. However, there is evidence that its natural area of distribution includes Mesopotamia, Jordan, and Egypt. Both in Europe and the U.S., where this plant is propagated in greenhouses, it has become popular as a botanical curiosity; the large, smelly inflorescences are produced from a dry corm without benefit of water or soil (hence the Dutch name “stinking dry-bloomer”).
