Tacca Cristata rare flower bulb pack of 1 bulb

Tacca Cristata Distribution and habitat: Tacca integrifolia is a tropical herb with a core distribution in Southeast Asia. In the wild, this plant occurs in the understory of rain forests in deep shade, but in a diversity of soil types. The species is most often found growing in accumulations of decayed organic matter.

Tacca Cristatai Description: Tacca integrifolia is long-lived, short stemmed rhizomatous herbaceous plants. It has attractive, entire leaves, vertical growth habit and strange whisker-like (filiform) bracts below the flowers that can hang down for as much as 3m (1 foot) in length. It is these structures and their accompanying cluster of luridly coloured flowers that has given rise to the sobriquet “batflower” for these marvelous tropical plants. Cloaking the flowers from above are two broad, light coloured and showy bracts, expanding like bat wings. Tacca integrifolia has white bracts hovering over the nodding flowers. The bracts are beautifully veined with purple. Beneath the clusters of purplish flowers hang the long filiform bracts, the whiskers. But, occasionally there is a variation and the bracts are purple or pure white and very occasionally the whiskers can be white. The plants reach about 1.2m (4 feet) in height.
The cylindrical rhizome of this plant grows vertically and the crown of large, attractive leaves emerge from the top of the rhizome. The leaves are lance-shaped with large blades up to 60cm (24 inch) long sustained on a petiole up to 40cm (15 inch) long.

Flowering seems to begin when the plants have produced 2-3 full-size leaves. Each plant produces at least 6 and up to 12 long-lasting flower stems during the warm months of the year. Tacca integrifolia flowers are presumed to be pollinated by flies. In cultivation, apparent self-pollination takes place in a certain percentage of plants. The leathery capsules about 4cm (1.5 inch) long require up to a year to ripen. When they split along their sides, numerous 0.5cm (0.25 inch) seeds are revealed embedded in a sticky pulp.

Houseplant care: Tacca integrifolia plants can be successfully grown indoors. In terms of growing conditions, Tacca integrifolia should do well in the same conditions that nurture orchids and many epiphytic ferns with ample humidity, strong airflow and moderate light and temperatures. This is definitely one of those plants where should not confuse watering with humidity… give it humidity, heat, then water.