ARUM FAMILY 



ARACEAE 



JACK IN THE PULPIT. INDIAN TURNIP 



Arisaema triphylliim (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 ot 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 is 

 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 to a 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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