ARUM FAMILY 
( Aracew ) 
This is quite a large family of plants containing six 
genera. All have acrid or pungent juices; flowers close¬ 
ly crowded on a spadix, usually surrounded by a spathe; 
leaves either simple or compound and of various shapes. 
Genus ( Ariscema ) 
Jack-in-the-Pulpit or Indian Turnip (Ariscema 
triphyllum) is the most abundant and the best known 
representative of this genus. In moist woods you will 
And Jack, represented by the spadix, looking out at you 
from his pulpit, represented by the spathe of the flower. 
The spathe is light green, more or less striped with 
brown, especially on the inside; the spadix is also green 
and has the tiny flowers clustered about its base. The 
large solid roots are very acrid and fiery to the taste, 
but are said to have been relished by the Indians. Usu¬ 
ally two, thrice-compounded leaves spread shelteringly 
on long stems over the flower spathe. Large clusters of 
bright berries remain after the leaves have withered. 
Flowers throughout U. S. from April to July. 
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