Arum cylindraceum

Arum cylindraceum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Alismatales
Family:	Araceae
Genus:	Arum
Species:	A. cylindraceum
Binomial name
	Arum cylindraceum; Gasp., 1829
Synonyms
	Arum alpinumSchott & Kotschy

Last updated December 31, 2023

Arum cylindraceum is a woodland plant species of the family Araceae. It is found in most of Europe except the UK, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States and Scandinavia (although it is found in Denmark), and in Turkey. It is also missing in northwestern France and southern Italy.

Description

The plain green leaves of A. cylindraceum appear in early spring (late March–early May) followed by the flowers borne on a poker-shaped inflorescence called a spadix, which is partially enclosed in a grass-green spathe or leaf-like hood. The flowers are hidden from sight, clustered at the base of the spadix with a ring of female flowers at the bottom and a ring of male flowers above them. Above the male flowers is a ring of hairs forming an insect trap. Insects are attracted to the spadix by its faecal odour and a temperature warmer than the ambient temperature. The insects are trapped beneath the ring of hairs and are dusted with pollen by the male flowers before escaping and carrying the pollen to the spadices of other plants, where they pollinate the female flowers. The spadix is pale chocolate brown to dark purple.^[1]

In autumn, the lower ring of (female) flowers forms a cluster of bright red berries which remain after the spathe and other leaves have withered away. These attractive red to orange berries are extremely poisonous. The berries contain oxalates of saponins which have needle-shaped crystals which irritate the skin, mouth, tongue, and throat, and result in swelling of the throat, difficulty breathing, burning pain, and upset stomach. However, their acrid taste, coupled with the almost immediate tingling sensation in the mouth when consumed, means that large amounts are rarely taken and serious harm is unusual.

All parts of the plant can produce allergic reactions in many people and the plant should be handled with care. Many small rodents appear to find the spadix particularly attractive; finding examples of the plant with much of the spadix eaten away is common. The spadix produces heat and probably scent as the flowers mature, and this may attract the rodents.

In areas where both A. cylindraceum and A. maculatum are found, they are easily confused. A. cylindraceum, however, does not usually occur in the wild in the UK, but in Central Europe both species are found, often growing in the same locations.

The only characteristic that sets the two species apart with certainty all year is the tuber, which is horizontal with A. maculatum but vertical with A. cylindraceum.^[2]

Other differences are:

The spadix is around 2/3 as long as the spathe; with A. maculatum it is only 1/2 as long. The spadix of A. cylindraceum is never yellow, which it can be with A. maculatum.
A. cylindraceum never has spotted leaves (except when hybridizing with A. maculatum). Note that A. maculatum, despite the name, does not always have spotted leaves (e.g. A. maculatum ssp. immaculatum).
The cluster of berries is up to 7 cm with A. cylindraceum, and up to 4 cm with A. maculatum.
The spathe is greener with A. cylindraceum, not quite as pale as with A. maculatum.

Habitat

Throughout the area it is found in deciduous woodland or on the edges of coniferous woodland, preferring partly shade and somewhat moist conditions. It is found up to 1700m, lower in the northern part of the area. In the southern part it is also found on grassy or rocky slopes and pastures.^[1]

Taxonomy

Within the genus, it belongs to subgenus Arum, section Alpina.^[1]

A. cylindraceum has a chromosome count of 2n = 28.^[1]

A. alpinum is now considered a synonym of A. cylindraceum, but certain subspecies such as A. alpinum ssp. danicum were long held to be a representative of another species. The name A. alpinum is, however, now considered obsolete in all cases.

Uses

In medieval Denmark, then including parts of Germany and Sweden, starch from the tubers (also from A. maculatum) was used to stiffen clerical collars, but as the tubers contain a caustic sap that caused blistering of the hands, this was abandoned when starch from wheat became available. Today colonies of A. cylindraceum are still found close to church sites, although the species seems to have died out in southern Sweden.^[1]

Related Research Articles

The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe. Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 140 genera and about 4,075 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.

<i>Amorphophallus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Amorphophallus is a large genus of some 200 tropical and subtropical tuberous herbaceous plants from the Arum family (Araceae), native to Asia, Africa, Australia and various oceanic islands. A few species are edible as "famine foods" after careful preparation to remove irritating chemicals. The genus includes the Titan arum of Indonesia, which has the largest inflorescence of any plant in the genus, and is also known as the 'corpse flower' for the pungent odour it produces during its flowering period, which can take up through seven years of growth before it occurs.

In botany, a spadix is a type of inflorescence having small flowers borne on a fleshy stem. Spadices are typical of the family Araceae, the arums or aroids. The spadix is typically surrounded by a leaf-like curved bract known as a spathe. For example, the "flower" of the well known Anthurium spp. is a typical spadix with a large colorful spathe.

Philodendron is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. As of September 2015, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepted 489 species; other sources accept different numbers. Regardless of number of species, the genus is the second-largest member of the family Araceae, after genus Anthurium. Taxonomically, the genus Philodendron is still poorly known, with many undescribed species. Many are grown as ornamental and indoor plants. The name derives from the Greek words philo- 'love, affection' and dendron 'tree'. The generic name, Philodendron, is often used as the English name.

Anthurium is a genus of about 1,000 species of flowering plants, the largest genus of the arum family, Araceae. General common names include anthurium, tailflower, flamingo flower, and laceleaf.

<i>Symplocarpus foetidus</i> Species of flowering plant

Symplocarpus foetidus, commonly known as skunk cabbage or eastern skunk cabbage, is a low-growing plant that grows in wetlands and moist hill slopes of eastern North America. Bruised leaves present an odor reminiscent of skunk.

Arum maculatum is a woodland flowering plant species in the family Araceae. It is native across most of Europe, as well as Eastern Turkey and the Caucasus.

Zantedeschia is a genus of eight species of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants in the aroid family, Araceae, native to southern Africa. The genus has been introduced, in some form, on every continent.

Arisaema triphyllum, the Jack-in-the-pulpit, is a species of flowering plant in the arum family Araceae. It is a member of the Arisaema triphyllum complex, a group of four or five closely related taxa in eastern North America. The specific name triphyllum means "three-leaved", a characteristic feature of the species, which is also referred to as Indian turnip, bog onion, and brown dragon.

Calla is a genus of flowering plant in the family Araceae, containing the single species Calla palustris.

Carrion flowers, also known as corpse flowers or stinking flowers, are mimetic flowers that emit an odor that smells like rotting flesh. Apart from the scent, carrion flowers often display additional characteristics that contribute to the mimesis of a decaying corpse. These include their specific coloration, the presence of setae and orifice-like flower architecture. Carrion flowers attract mostly scavenging flies and beetles as pollinators. Some species may trap the insects temporarily to ensure the gathering and transfer of pollen.

Arum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. Frequently called arum lilies, they are not closely related to the true lilies Lilium. Plants in closely related Zantedeschia are also called "arum lilies".

Sauromatum venosum is a species of plant in the arum family, Araceae. It is native to Asia and Africa, where it grows in forests and riparian meadows.

Zantedeschia elliottiana, golden arum or golden calla lily,yellow calla lily, is a herbaceous ornamental plant in the family Araceae. It grows from a bulb. It is said to occur in the province of Mpumalanga in South Africa, although other sources say that it is not found in the wild but appears to be a hybrid of garden origin.

Dracunculus vulgaris is a species of aroid flowering plant in the genus Dracunculus and the arum family Araceae. Common names include the common dracunculus, dragon lily, dragon arum, black arum and vampire lily. In Greece, part of its native range, the plant is called drakondia, the long spadix being viewed as a small dragon hiding in the spathe.

Peltandra virginica is a plant of the arum family known as green arrow arum and tuckahoe. It is widely distributed in wetlands in the eastern United States, as well as in Quebec, Ontario, and Cuba. It is common in central Florida including the Everglades and along the Gulf Coast. Its rhizomes are tolerant to low oxygen levels found in wetland soils. It can be found elsewhere in North America as an introduced species and often an invasive plant.

Amorphophallus titanum, the titan arum, is a flowering plant in the family Araceae. It has the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The inflorescence of the talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, is larger, but it is branched rather than unbranched. A. titanum is endemic to rainforests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Arum dioscoridis, commonly known as the Spotted arum, is a plant of the arum family (Araceae).

Arum orientale is a woodland plant species of the family Araceae. It is found in southeastern Europe as far west as Vienna and in Turkey. Its primary range is Romania, Bulgaria, and southern Ukraine.

Arisarum proboscideum, also known as the mouse plant or mouse-tail plant, is a flowering plant in the family Araceae.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Boyce, Peter (1993). The Genus Arum. London: HMSO. ISBN 0-11-250085-4. pp. 85-90
↑ "Arums and Trollius".

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[GA-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Boyce, Peter (1993). The Genus Arum. London: HMSO. ISBN 0-11-250085-4. pp. 85-90

[2] "Arums and Trollius".

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