WATER ARUM; WILD CALLA 



Calla palustris L. 

 ARUM FAMILY 



" Yes, though you may think me perverse, if it were proposed to me to dwell 

 in the neighborhood of the most beautiful garden that ever human art contrived, 

 or else of a Dismal Swamp, I should certainly decide for the swamp." Thoreau. 



If you feel in any measure the fascination of these so-called 

 waste places, as did the philosopher of Walden, you will some day 

 in your rambles come upon a colony of Water Arums. It is likely 

 to be in a little pool in the bog or on the margin of the swamp. 

 The dark masses of smooth, heart-shaped leaves should serve 

 as identification. If in doubt, look for long, creeping rootstocks, 

 with white fibrous roots at the joints. If not yet satisfied, break 

 a rootstalk and taste the juice, but very delicately, for it has an 

 acrid bite. In early Summer the flowers make such experiments 

 unnecessary, as you at once recognize a humble relation of the 

 stately calla lily of the greenhouse. 



The flowers proper are small, consisting of stamens and pistil 

 only, and are compactly arranged around the top of the stem 

 into a fleshy* spike, called the spadix. Below this is a thick, 

 pointed bract, the spathe, white on the inner surface, greenish 

 on the outside. This snowy banner behind the inconspicuous 

 spike serves to attract insects, who unconsciously aid in ferti- 

 lization as they crawl over the flowers and pass from plant to 

 plant. By late Summer the spadix has developed into a large, 

 knotty head of bright red berries, containing hard, smooth seeds 

 surrounded by a jelly-like pulp. 



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