A perennial, evergreen plant. Erect stems grow up to 60'' (150 cm) tall and shiny long leaves grow up to 18'' (45 cm) long. In the fourth year plant forms a large flower with long orange and purple petals. The flower has an asymmetrical shape that creates an illusion of an exotic bird's head. Used as a potted houseplant.
Planting instructions: Plant the seeds in March or April, but first remove their orange, hairy tufts - called arils, and refrigerate the seeds at 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit (5-8 C) for two weeks inside a plastic bag with one handful of a damp seed-starting mix. After removing seeds with hard shells from the refrigerator, immerse them for 24 to 48 hours in lukewarm water, softening them. Then scratch the side of each seed with a file or the tip of a utility knife until you break through the black shell, or coat, to reveal a lighter color. If you don't want to risk scratching your seeds, then use another method that reportedly helps speed their germination. The smoke treatment, for example, requires immersing a smoke seed primer disc in about 1/5 cup of water along with the seeds for 24 hours. If you prefer to soften the seeds with saltpeter, steep them for 24 to 48 hours in 1 cup of water to which you added 1/8 teaspoon of saltpeter. If you do not have access to either smoke discs or saltpeter, try soaking the seeds in buttermilk -- or warm water laced with a little liquid soap -- for one to two days instead, and rinse the seeds well with clean water before you plant them.
