Arum maculatum
Encyclopedia
Arum maculatum is a common woodland plant species
of the Araceae
family. It is widespread across temperate northern Europe
and is known by an abundance of common names including Wild arum, Lords and Ladies, Devils and Angels, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoo-Pint, Adam and Eve, Bobbins, Naked Boys, Starch-Root and Wake Robin.
s borne on a poker shaped inflorescence
called a spadix. The purple spadix
is partially enclosed in a pale green spathe or leaf-like hood. The flowers are hidden from sight, clustered at the base of the spadix with a ring of female flowers at the bottom and a ring of male flowers above them.
Above the male flowers is a ring of hairs forming an insect trap. Insects, especially Psychoda spp., attracted to the spadix by its faecal odour and a temperature up to 15 degrees celsius warmer than the ambient temperature, are trapped beneath the ring of hairs and are dusted with pollen
by the male flowers before escaping and carrying the pollen to the spadices of other plants, where they pollinate the female flowers.The spadix may also (see the picture) be yellow, but purple is the more common.
In autumn the lower ring of (female) flowers forms a cluster of bright red berries which remain after the spathe and other leaves have withered away. These attractive red to orange berries are extremely poisonous. The berries contain oxalates of saponins which have needle-shaped crystals which irritate the skin, mouth, tongue, and throat, and result in swelling of throat, difficulty breathing, burning pain, and upset stomach. However, their acrid taste coupled with the almost immediate tingling sensation in the mouth when consumed mean that large amounts are rarely taken and serious harm is unusual. It is one of the most common causes of accidental plant poisoning based on attendance at hospital A & E departments.
The root-tube may be very big and is used to store starch
. In mature specimens the tuber may be as much as 400 mm below ground level.
All parts of the plant can produce allergic reactions
in many people and the plant should be handled with care. Many small rodent
s appear to find the spadix particularly attractive and it is common to find examples of the plant with much of the spadix eaten away. The spadix produces heat and probably scent as the flowers mature and it may be this that attracts the rodents.
Arum maculatum is also known as the cuckoo pint
in the British Isles
and is named thus in Nicholas Culpeper
s' famous 16th Century herbal. This is a name it shares with Arum italicum
(Italian Lords-and-Ladies) - the other native British Arum
.
. It was used like salop or salep
(a working class drink popular before the introduction of tea or coffee). It was also used as a substitute for arrowroot
. If prepared incorrectly, it can be highly toxic so should be prepared with due diligence and caution.
in traditional and woodland shade garden
s. The cluster of bright red berries standing alone without foliage can be a striking landscape accent. The mottled and variegated leaf patterns can add bright interest in darker habitat
s.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of the Araceae
Araceae
Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe or leaf-like bract. Also known as the Arum family, members are often colloquially...
family. It is widespread across temperate northern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and is known by an abundance of common names including Wild arum, Lords and Ladies, Devils and Angels, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoo-Pint, Adam and Eve, Bobbins, Naked Boys, Starch-Root and Wake Robin.
Description
The purple spotted leaves of Arum maculatum appear in the spring (April–May) followed by the flowerFlower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s borne on a poker shaped inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
called a spadix. The purple spadix
Spadix
In botany, a spadix is a type of spike inflorescence having small flowers borne on a fleshy stem. Spadix are typical of the Family Araceae known as arums or aroids...
is partially enclosed in a pale green spathe or leaf-like hood. The flowers are hidden from sight, clustered at the base of the spadix with a ring of female flowers at the bottom and a ring of male flowers above them.
Above the male flowers is a ring of hairs forming an insect trap. Insects, especially Psychoda spp., attracted to the spadix by its faecal odour and a temperature up to 15 degrees celsius warmer than the ambient temperature, are trapped beneath the ring of hairs and are dusted with pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
by the male flowers before escaping and carrying the pollen to the spadices of other plants, where they pollinate the female flowers.The spadix may also (see the picture) be yellow, but purple is the more common.
In autumn the lower ring of (female) flowers forms a cluster of bright red berries which remain after the spathe and other leaves have withered away. These attractive red to orange berries are extremely poisonous. The berries contain oxalates of saponins which have needle-shaped crystals which irritate the skin, mouth, tongue, and throat, and result in swelling of throat, difficulty breathing, burning pain, and upset stomach. However, their acrid taste coupled with the almost immediate tingling sensation in the mouth when consumed mean that large amounts are rarely taken and serious harm is unusual. It is one of the most common causes of accidental plant poisoning based on attendance at hospital A & E departments.
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
. In mature specimens the tuber may be as much as 400 mm below ground level.
Allergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
in many people and the plant should be handled with care. Many small rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s appear to find the spadix particularly attractive and it is common to find examples of the plant with much of the spadix eaten away. The spadix produces heat and probably scent as the flowers mature and it may be this that attracts the rodents.
Arum maculatum is also known as the cuckoo pint
Cuckoo pint
Cuckoo Pint refers to more than one species of the genus Arum.*Arum italicum, Italian Lords-and-Ladies*Arum maculatum, Lords-and-Ladies...
in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and is named thus in Nicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper was an English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer. His published books include The English Physician and the Complete Herbal , which contain a rich store of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge, and Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick ,...
s' famous 16th Century herbal. This is a name it shares with Arum italicum
Arum italicum
Arum italicum is a member the plant family Araceae, also known as Italian arum and Italian Lords-and-Ladies. The plant is native to southern and western Europe...
(Italian Lords-and-Ladies) - the other native British Arum
Arum
Arum is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region....
.
Culinary
The root of the cuckoo pint, when roasted well, is edible and when ground was once traded under the name of Portland sagoSago
Sago is a starch extracted in the spongy center or pith, of various tropical palm stems, Metroxylon sagu. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas, where it is called saksak and sagu. A type of flour, called sago flour, is made from sago. The largest supply...
. It was used like salop or salep
Salep
Salep is a flour made from grinding the dried tubers of the orchid genus Orchis . These tubers contain a nutritious starch-like polysaccharide called glucomannan. Salep flour is consumed today in beverages and desserts, primarily in Turkey and in places that were formerly part of the Ottoman...
(a working class drink popular before the introduction of tea or coffee). It was also used as a substitute for arrowroot
Arrowroot
Arrowroot, or obedience plant , Bermuda arrowroot, araru, ararao, is a large perennial herb found in rainforest habitats...
. If prepared incorrectly, it can be highly toxic so should be prepared with due diligence and caution.
Cultivated
Arum maculatum is cultivated as an ornamental plantOrnamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
in traditional and woodland shade garden
Shade garden
Shade gardens are gardens planted and grown in areas with little or no direct sunlight during the day, either under trees or on the shady sides of buildings. Shade gardening presents certain challenges, in part because only certain plants are able to grow in shady conditions. Very few edible plants...
s. The cluster of bright red berries standing alone without foliage can be a striking landscape accent. The mottled and variegated leaf patterns can add bright interest in darker habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s.