Pinellia infloresences Once you take a good look at them, they are fairly easty to tell apart. In the first set pictures below (taken 7/15/98), the species represented are, shown left to right: Pinellia pedatisecta Pinellia tripartita Pinellia tripartita 'Atropurpurea' Pinellia ternata Pinellia cordata 'Yamazaki' Click on the picture to see a larger image.
Front view.		Side view.
Rear view.		Side view, cut-away.
The following pictures were taken a bit earlier in the season than the above, on 6/20/98. Left to right: Pinellia cordata 'Yamazaki' Pinellia tripartita Pinellia pedatisecta
Front view.		Side view.
Cut-away view.
Finally, here is a shot taken 7/4/98 that emphasizes one difference between Pinellia tripartita 'Atropurpurea' (l) and plain old Pinellia tripartita (r). These two plants were growing in similar conditions, in the same garden, about 25 feet away from one another. The 'Atropurpurea' inflorescence shows a strong affinity to attracting gnats (or small flies) as pollinators, which seem to perish once entrapped in the lower chamber. Yes, the insects are the black stain, and there must have been several dozen of them.
		Admittedly, the 'Atropurpurea' inflorescence is a bit older, but examinations of other specimens later in the season showed consistent. The photo above with five inflorescences shows only a few insects trapped, but they definitely are there. No insects were ever observed trapped in the inflorescences of any other pinellias.