ARUM FAMILY. Aracese. 



ARUM FAMILY. Aracece. 



Perennial herbs possessing a sharp, peppery juice, and 

 with sometimes perfect, but generally only two orders 

 of flowers ; i. e., 1. Staminate and pistillate on the same 

 plant, 2. Staminate and pistillate on different plants. 

 The flowers crowded on a club or spadix enclosed within 

 a hood or spathe. Fertilization assisted by insects. 

 Indian Turnip Generally with two long-stemmed, tri- 

 or Jack=in-the= parted dull green leaves without a gloss, 

 P"'P'* which overshadow the hooded flower be- 



h^Uuvi " ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ junction of the leaf-stems. 

 Purple=brown The flowers, on the clublike spadix within 

 and green the hood, are grouped at the base of the 



April-July spadix and are generally staminate and 



pistillate on separate plants, that is to say, the stamens 

 are abortive on one plant and the pistils are abortive 

 on another ; thus small insects (the gnat of the genus 

 Mycetophila especially) are a means of fertilization, and 

 frequently they may be found imprisoned in close quar- 

 ters between the bases of spathe and spadix. It is pos- 

 sibly developing a dependence upon insects for fertiliza- 

 tion ; but often one plant develops both staminate and 

 pistillate flowers. Tlie novel and beautiful green and 

 purple-brown striped spathe is variable in depth of color ; 

 exposed to sunlight it is usually quite pale, while in the 

 dark woods it is exceedingly purple ; as a rule the plant 

 prefers the shaded, wet woods. The handsome cluster- 

 ing berry like fruit is at first green and finally, in late 

 August, brilliant scarlet. The plant attains a height of 

 1-2| feet. It is common in the woods in wet situations, 

 everywhere. The exceedingly peppery bulb becomes 

 edible after boiling. 



Green Dragon, This species generally has a single com- 

 Dragon-root, pound leaf with seven or more obovate- 

 or Dragon lance-sliaped, pointed, dull green leaflets. 



AnZmaDra-. ^^'^ ^^^^^ ^P^^^^^ ^^ "^^^^l^^^ Composed of 



contium both staminate and pistillate flowers, and 



Dull white- it tapers to a slender point, reaching far 



K''ee" beyond the rolled-up, greenish, pointed 



ay- une. spathe. The berries are red-orange. The 



