Melianthus major (giant honey flower)

Japanese name: メリアンサス マヨール
Scientific name: Melianthus major

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub 2–3 m tall and 1–3 m across.
All parts of the plant are poisonous.
The stems are soft, woody and hollow; it sends up suckers and forms a dense, clumping thicket.
The leaves are alternate and odd-pinnately compound, 30–50 cm long, with 11–21 leaflets; they are tinged blue-green to blue-gray and have a distinctive foul odor likened to musk or peanut butter.
The leaflets are ovate to elliptic, 8–15 cm long and 3.5–7.5 cm wide, often folded in two along the midrib, and have regular triangular teeth on the margins.
The leaf rachis is winged.
Spike-like racemes 30–80 cm long are produced, with ovate to narrowly ovate bracts; the flower stalk and bracts are almost the same color as the flowers.
The flowers are dark maroon to rusty red with conspicuous sepals; the petals are very small and hidden by the sepals.
When the flowers mature, the flower stalk twists 180 degrees and the flower ends up upside down.
The flowers produce abundant nectar and are visited by wild birds in the native habitat.
The fruit is a papery capsule with 4 chambers, containing glossy black seeds.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division (suckers) or cuttings.
It can overwinter outdoors in warm regions south of the Kanto region, but in cold regions grow it in a pot and bring it into a bright place indoors.
Well-established plants tolerate temperatures down to about 0 to -5°C, and even if the aboveground parts die back in winter, they sprout again in spring.
It prefers a sunny, well-ventilated, well-drained, fertile and moderately moist soil.
Avoid dry, cold winter winds; for plants in the ground, apply dry mulch in winter to protect them from excess moisture.
From spring to autumn, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; keep it on the dry side in winter.
Apply slow-release fertilizer in spring and autumn.
There are no particular pests or diseases, but greenhouse whitefly and red spider mites occur in greenhouses.

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