ARUM MACULATUM.-THE COMMON ARUM. 
Class XXI. MONCECIA.— Order VII. POLYANDRIA. 
Natural Order, AROIDE,E. THE ARUM TRIBE. 
This is a well-known perennial plant, a native of many parts of Britain, generally growing under hedges, 
remarkable for its acrimony, and the singular structure of its fructification. “ At the first approach of 
spring,” says Sir James E. Smith, “the verdant shining leaves of Arum are seen shooting up abundantly 
wherever any brushwood protects them from the tread of men or cattle. In May, the very extraordinary 
flowers appear. In autumn, after both flowers and leaves have vanished, a spike of scarlet berries, on a 
simple stalk, is all that remains ; and few persons are aware of the plant to which they owe their origin.” 
The root is pseudo-tuberous, about the size of a chesnut or larger, with numerous coronal capillary 
fibres, brown externally, and white and fleshy within. The leaves, which spring immediately from the 
corona are large, halberd-shaped, entire, smooth, of a dark green colour, frequently spotted, and supported 
on long-channelled footstalks, The flower-stem is a simple scape, obscurely channelled, and terminated by 
the spathe, inclosing the parts of fructification. The spathe is erect, pale green, sometimes spotted, very 
concave and pointed. The spadix is club-shaped, obtuse, of a deep purple colour; at its base are several 
roundish germens and a ring of sessile anthers; above each of these are placed rings of many roundish 
bodies, terminated by longish filaments; these Linneeus called the nectaries: the lowermost rings are be- 
lieved to be abortive pistils, the upper abortive stamens. The fruit consists of several globular berries, of a 
bright scarlet colour when ripe, crowded on an oblong spike, each berry containing two or more seed. 
The modern name Arum is a modification of the ancient appellation Aron, a word of Egyptian origin 
and supposed to have belonged to the species now called A. Colocasia, which present specific name is a cor- 
ruption of the Arabic qolqas. 
Qualities. — The root is nearly white, and free from smell. When recent, it is very acrimonious ; so 
much so, that on our tasting a small piece, an insupportable sensation of burning and pricking was produced, 
which lasted several hours. Applied to the skin, it produces blisters : but its acrimony is lost by drying, 
which leaves the root a farinaceous substance, that in some countries has been converted into bread ; and 
being saponaceous, is used in France under the name of Cypress Powder, as a cosmetic. Water and 
spirit abstract the acrid principle, but derive no virtue from it. It is entirely on the acrid properties 
that its medical virtues depend, and therefore the old formula Pidvis Ari compositus finds no longer 
a place in our dispensatories. The expressed juice reddens vegetable blues, and has been found to contain 
malate of lime. Starch has been also prepared from it. Vauquelin found malic acid, in the state of su- 
permalate of lime, in Arum and several other plants. 
In some countries, the tuberous roots of many of the Arums, particularly those of A. Colocasia, a native 
of Syria and Egypt, are dried and eaten by the inhabitants, either roasted or raw. In the West Indies, the 
leaves of some of the sorts, particularly that of the A. esculentum, are boiled and eaten as greens ; hence the 
names of Indian-kale and esculent Arum, which have been given to this species. The roots of A. sagitti- 
folium are also edible ; but they are less generally cultivated. Mr. Loudon, in his valuable Encyclopaedia 
of Gardening, informs us, that in the Isle of Portland, where the plant is particularly abundant, the common 
people gather the roots of our spotted Arum, and esteem it as an article of food ; and after steeping it in 
water, washing and drying, the farinaceous powder procured is sent to London, where it is sold as Portland 
sago. 
For medical use. Dr. Lewis recommends the roots to be dug up just as the leaves are decaying ; and 
by being put into sand, in a cellar, they may be preserved the greater part of the year. 
Poisonous Effects. — Warzel, a German practitioner, has administered the fresh root of Arum to 
dogs : they died at the end of from twenty-four to thirty-six hours, without any other symptom than de- 
jection, and the digestive canal was found somewhat inflamed. 
Buillard relates the following case : “Three woodman’s children ate of the leaves of this plant ; they 
were seized with horrible convulsions. Assistance was procured for them too late ; It was impossible to 
make the two youngest swallow any thing ; they were bled without success ; they died at the expiration of 
twelve days, another at the end of sixteen. The other child was still able to swallow, although with con- 
siderable pain, because its tongue was so swelled that it filled the whole cavity of the mouth ; but deglu- 
tition became free after being bled. The child was made to drink milk, warm water, and especially an 
