ZANTEDESCHIA AETHIOPICA

    USES & BENEFITS OF ZANTEDESCHIA AETHIOPICA

• Suitable for cut flowers, Fragrant flowers, Attractive flowers or blooms.
• Borders, containers, pond peripheries, water gardens or houseplants.
• Robust evergreen plant up to 60 cm high, without a dark purple area at the base of the spathe inside; the ovaries are interspersed with staminodes; and the limb, which is consistently ivory-white is broad and widely spreading backwards.
• In typical plants the spadix is bright yellow. Petiole smooth, without bristles; female flowers interspersed with staminodes.
• Suitable for cut flowers, Fragrant flowers, Attractive flowers or blooms.
• Callas will often bloom twice a year, in late spring and again in fall.
• All parts of the plant are poisonous, causing irritation and swelling of the mouth and acute gastric diarrhoea. The sap can cause eczema and dermatitis of the skin and is also an irritant to the mucous membranes and eyes.
• The leaves and rhizomes are traditionally used to dress wounds and bites. The leaves and rhizomes are also reported to be eaten, but only following careful preparation to remove the needle-like calcium oxalate crystals, known as raphides.

     Planting Care:

• Its small leaves are edible under guidance.Zantedeschia cultivation grow outdoors in full sun or part shade in moisture-retentive. Use aquatic compost and a 30cm (1ft) deep planting basket.
• This moderately hardy monocotyledon can be grown outside in the UK. In any position it will grow best in moist soil or shallow water. In its natural habitat it can be deciduous or evergreen, depending on the rainfall and soil water rather than temperature. The position in which it is planted will also determine size and flowering. Planting under shade is preferable if there is no boggy position for this plant, but this will reduce the number of flowers and result in a smaller plant. Fertile soil is required. In optimum conditions a good display of flowers can be enjoyed in the spring and summer.
• Propagation can be by seed or division. Seeds can be removed from the pulp of the fruit when it has turned yellow or orange and soft but gloves should be worn due to the toxicity of the plant. The seeds should then be dried off for sowing in the spring. They should be sown sparingly to allow space for the fleshy roots to form. A seed compost should be used and the seeds covered lightly. Division of the fleshy rootstock should be done when the plant is dormant. It can then be planted at a depth of 5 cm.