A R U 
1 6. Arum {Sagittce folium ) acaule foliis fagittatis trian- j 
gulls angulis divar leads acutis. Hort. Cliff. 345. A- 
rum without fialk , lance-fhaped leaves which are triangu- 
lar , acute-pointed , ribbed. Arum maximum iE- 
gyptiacum quod vulgo Colocafia cauliculis nigrican- 
tibus Zeylanica. H. L. B. 
17. Arum ( Arbor ef cent ) caulefcens rectum, foliis fagit- 
tatis. Lin. Sp. 1371. Arum with an erett fialk, and ar- 
row-Jhaped leaves , commonly called Dumb Cane. 
18. Arum ( Auritum ) caulefcens radicans, foliis terna- 
tis, lateralibus unilobatis. Lin. Sp. 1371. Arumwhofe 
fialks fend out roots, and trifoliate leaves. Arum he- 
deraceum triphylium & auritum. Plum. Amer. 41. 
tab. 58. 
The firfb fort grows naturally in woods and on fhady 
banks in moft parts of England, fo is feldom admit- 
ted into gardens ; but being a medicinal plant, it is 
here inferred to introduce the other fpecies. There 
are two varieties of. this, one with plain leaves, and 
the other hath leaves full of black fpots, but thefe 
are only accidental varieties which arife from the fame 
feeds. The roots of this are ordered by the College 
of Phyficians to be ufed in a powder which bears the 
title of the plant ; but thefe are generally gathered 
in the fpring, when the leaves are in full vigour, fo 
that the roots fhrink and foon lofe their pungent 
quality ; but thofe which are taken up in Auguft, 
when their leaves decay, will continue good a whole 
year, and retain their pungency the fame as when firft 
taken up. The not obferving this, has brought the 
medicine into difrepute. It flowers in April, and the 
feeds ripen in July. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in Italy, Spain, and 
Portugal, from whence I have received the feeds. 
The leaves of this fort rife a foot and a half high, are 
very large, running out to a point •, thefe are finely 
veined with white, interfperfed with black fpots, 
which, together with the fine flaming green of their 
furface, make a pretty variety. The flowers grow 
near a foot high, and have very long upright fpathas, 
which are of a pale green, inclining to white ; thefe 
appear the end of April, or beginning of May, and 
the feeds are ripe in Auguft ; this propagates very 
faft by offsets from the root, and will thrive in any 
foil or fituation. The belt time to tranfplant them 
is foon after the feeds are ripe, for by the end of Oc- 
tober they will be putting out new fibres. 
The third, fourth, and fifth forts have Been generally 
feparated from this genus, and were diftinguifhed by 
the title of Arifarum, or Friar’s Cowl, from the re- 
femblance the flower has in fliape to the hoods or 
cowls worn by the people of that order •, the leaves of 
thefe have fhort foot-ftalks, the flowers growing clofe 
to the ground they flower in April, but feldom pro- 
duce feeds in England ; however they multiply faft 
by offsets, and ffiould have a fhady fituation. The 
time for tranfplanting the roots is the fame as for the 
• former. They are preferved in fome gardens for 
the fake of variety, but have little beauty to recom- 
mend them. 
The fixth and feventh forts grow naturally in Virgi- 
nia and Carolina, from whence I have received their 
roots; their leaves arife immediately from the roots, 
having fcarce any foot-ftalks ; the flowers come up be- 
tween their leaves, which have fhort foot-ftalks ; they 
appear in May, but have little beauty, fo the plants 
are only kept in botanic gardens for the fake of va- 
riety. They will live in the open air, if they are 
planted in a flickered fituation, or if the furface of 
the ground is covered with tan to keep out the froft 
in winter, and will thrive better in the full ground 
than in pots. They are propagated by offsets. 
The eighth fort is the common Dragon, which is 
ufed in medicine, and has been generally ranged in 
a feparate genus from this under the title of Dracun- 
culus, in which genus Tournefort has ranged all thole 
. fpecies which have compound leaves, and thofe with 
Angle leaves he has placed under Arum. 
This fort is ufed in medicine, fo is preferved in gar- 
dens to limply the markets : it grows naturally in moft 
A R U 
of the fouthern parts of Europe. This plant hath a 
large, tuberous, fiefliy root, which, in the fpring puts 
up a. ftrait ftalk about three feet high, which is Ipot- 
■ted like the belly of a fnake ; at the top it fpreads 
out into leaves, which are cut into feveral narrow 
fegments alrnoft to the bottom, which'' fp read open 
like a hand ; at the top of the ftalk the flower is pro- 
duced, which is in fnape like the common Arum, 
having a very long fpatha of a dark purple colour. 
Handing erect, with a large piftil of the fame colour, 
fo that when it is in flower, it makes no unpleaftng 
appearance ; but the flower hath fo ftrong a feent of 
carrion, that few perfons can endure it ; for which 
reafon it hath been banilhed moft gardens, but was 
it not for this, a few of the plants might merit a place 
in gardens, for theoddnefs of the. flower. It is very 
hardy, fo will grow in any foil or fituation, and pro- 
pagates very fall by offsets from the root. The time 
to traniplant it is in autumn, when their leaves de- 
cay. It flowers in June or July, and their Talks de- 
cay in September. 
The ninth fort grows naturally in moift places in Vir- 
ginia and New England, but is very difficult to pre- 
ferve long in a garden. I received fome roots of this 
from New England a few years ago, which continued 
two years ; but the foil being dry, they decayed in 
fummer : thefe fhould have a moift fhady fituation, 
otherwife they will not thrive. The leaves of this fort 
are divided like thofe of the former, but are fmaller, 
and rarely grow more' than nine inches high; the 
flowers are like thofe of the common Arum, but 
the piftil is longer than the fpatha. It flowers in June, 
and the ftalks decay in autumn. 
The tenth fort grows naturally in Ceylon, and fome 
other parts of India, fo is very impatient of cold : it 
is a plant of humble growth : the leaves come up 
from the root, having foot-ftalks about four inches 
long ; thefe are divided into three lobes, which ter- 
minate. in points ; the flower rifes immediately from 
the root, Handing on a very fhort foot-ftalk ; the fpa- 
tha is long, eredt, and of a fine fcarlet within, as is 
alfo the piftil. This ufually appears in May, and the 
leaves decay in Auguft, but new ones foon after rife 
from the root. This plant muft be placed in the 
tan-bed of the bark-ftove, otherwife it will not thrive 
in England. It is propagated by offsets from the 
root, which come out in plenty when the plants are 
in health. 
The eleventh, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and 
fixteenth forts, have mild rbots, which are eaten by 
the inhabitants of all the hot countries, where they 
grow naturally, and fome of the forts are cultivated 
by the inhabitants of the fugar colonies, as efculent 
plants, their roots being conftantly eaten, as alfo are 
the leaves of fome of the forts, particularly the fif- 
teenth, which they call Indian Kale: the leaves of 
this are boiled, and fupply the want of other greens. 
As there is a conftant Hicceffion of thefe all the year, 
afmallfpotof ground, planted with thefe roots, will 
be fufficient to fupply a large family. It is efteemed 
a wholfome green, and in thofe countries where many 
of the common European vegetables are with diffi- 
culty procured, this proves a good fuccedanum ; but 
they feem to make little diffinhtion of the fpecies, for 
I have received the roots of three forts, by the com- 
mon title of Edder; but I fuppofe the fourteenth fort 
is the moft commonly cultivated there for their roots. 
The fixteenth fort has not been many years introduced 
among them, for it came originally from the Spanifli 
Weft-Indies, where it grows in great plenty. Both 
thefe have larger roots than the fifteenth, for which 
reafon they are preferred to it. 
All thefe forts are preferved in the gardens of thofe 
.perfons, who are curious in collecting exotic plants, 
for the variety of their leaves ; their flowers have very 
little beauty, nor do they often appear in this coun- 
try. The plants are propagated eafilyby offsets from 
their roots, which they put out plentifully : thefe 
muff be planted in pots filled with light earth, and 
plunged into a hot-bed, to promote their taking root ; 
Z and 
5 & 
1 
