One of the fun things about this job is the opportunity to explore categories of plant life one has never contemplated before. The International Aroid Society celebrates a grouping of flowering plants called (unsurprisingly) aroids.

According to their website: “Aroid is the common name for members of the Araceae family of plants, sometimes known as the Philodendron or Arum family. The occasionally beautiful and often bizarre combination of spathe and spadix called the inflorescence, sometimes referred to as a ‘flower’, is a distinguishing feature of all aroids.”

Two events are in the offing. First, the International Aroid Society stages its annual show and sale September 21 and 22, 2013, in the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 11935 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, Florida (map).

Second (for the more adventurous), the The 11th International Aroid Conference is set for December 11 through 13, 2013, in the Army Hotel, 33C Pham Ngu Lao street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam. This event is organized by the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) in Hanoi and supported by the International Aroid Society. There’s more information online.

(Image of postage stamp from Grenada courtesy of International Aroid Society)