ARUM FAMILY ARACEAE 
JACK IN THE PULPIT. INDIAN TURNIP 
Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott 
The Arum family has only a few representatives in 
Illinois, although it is rather large in the tropics, where 
some of its members have tuberous stems used for food 
much as our potato. 
The Calla Lily and 
Elephant’s Ear, two 
well-known plants 
cultivated for the 
beauty of their flow- 
ers, also belong to 
this family. 
Jack in the Pulpit is 
common in rich woods 
throughout the eastern 
part of the United States 
and Canada. The 2 leaves and the 
inflorescence come up in May from 
the corm, which because of its shape 
is called Indian Turnip. This corm 
has an intensely acrid juice the sharp 
crystals of which dissolve slowly in 
the mouth and are the cause of the 
burning sensation on the tongue of 
any uninitiated person so unfortu- 
nate as to taste it at the request of a practical joker. 
The plants are dioecious and the pistillate flowers are 
produced later than the staminate. The inflorescence 1s 
a spathe, usually dull green, striped with purple, surrounding a 
long slender spadix with the flowers clustered along its - 
lower end. At first the spathe is so smooth and _ slippery 
on the inner side that flies which have visited the flowers and 
collected pollen are unable to climb out; but as soon as the 
spathe begins to wither it becomes less smooth and the flies 
escape toa pistillate plant. Here again the insects are imprisoned 
until the spathe begins to wither, and pollination is generally 
accomplished though the flies may perish shortly afterward. 
The fruit matures in late summer and consists of a cluster of 
bright scarlet berries, each containing 1-4 seeds. 
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