ARUM FAMILY 



ARACE^ 



The Arum family is one of unusual interest on 

 account of the extraordinary structure of the 

 flowers. The common Calla of greenhouses is 

 a familiar illustration of the group, as is also the 

 quaint Jack-in-the-pulpit of swampy woods. In 

 all of these plants the outer part of the flower 

 consists of a large, more or less membranous part 

 called the spathe, within which is an erect, club- 

 like part called the spadix. On the lower portion 

 of this spadix the stamens and pistils are borne. 

 The rootstock is commonly a tuber or corm-like 

 bulb and the fruit is generally a brightly colored 

 berry. 



Swamp Cabbage. One of the most interest- 

 ing members of this interesting family is the 

 Swamp Cabbage or Skunk Cabbage. This is the 

 first of the herbaceous plants to discover the return 

 of spring: in some sheltered corner of a bog, 

 where the surrounding w^oods keep off the chill 

 March winds, it absorbs the warmth of the sun- 

 shine and sends up its strange blossoms long before 

 other flowers have begun to start. The blossoms 

 precede the leaves, which gradually push up as the 



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