It is thought that trapping the insects may be necessary for effective pollination because an insect that has visited a female flower would need to be kept overnight so that it would still be there when the male flowers open the next day to release their pollen, thus covering the insect, who, then, somehow, effects and escape to visit another inflorescence whose female flowers are just opening and fertilize it.
This seems to me a complicated procedure, subject to all sorts of potential roadblocks. But, it must work or we would not have the diversity of species that are known.
Providing food in the form of fleshy warts at the base of the spathe or special modified male flowers (staminodes) on the spadix helps to encourage pollinators to stick around long enough for the second (male pollen) act to begin. Staminodes don't produce pollen but have been transformed into a protein-rich food source for the pollinating insects.
Fruit
Once successfully pollinated, most of the spath withers and drops off and the individual female flowers develop into seed-containing berries. You can see the remnants of the spadix on the A. kiusianus cluster in the image. Most species have red berries, but some offer other colors.
While there is little doubt that birds are the main distributors of Amorphophallus seed, there has been little actual observation of them doing this.
Fresh seed generally germinates in one to three weeks, except for A. henryi and A. kiusianus. Clean the seed by removing the berry flesh, but don't let it dry out. Once it dries out, it's basically dead.
Sow seed in typical seed sowing medium (nutrient poor and slightly acidic). Seedlings may not go dormant for a year - keep them actively growing as long as you can. Leave dormant baby tubers in their pots - don't store dry - until they are large enough to become drought resistant.
The Root of the Matter
Tubers, the underground storage organs, also come in assorted shapes and sizes. The health of these plants is measured by the seasonal increase in tuber size, especially for young plants, which can treble their weight in one season. Because of this, if you are growing them in pots, your pot needs to be twice the diameter of the tuber each time you repot (which you should do during every dormancy period).
Tuber tops must be well below soil line because the roots emerge from the top of the tuber and need to be sufficiently anchored to support the tall petiole or inflorescence.
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