ARUM FAMILY 
ARACE/E 
Tue 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 Cappace. 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 woods keep off the chill 
March winds, it absorbs the warmth of the sun- 
shineand 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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