Arum italicum

Last updated

Arum italicum
Flor de Arum italicum.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Arum
Species:
A. italicum
Binomial name
Arum italicum
Synonyms [1]
  • Arum maculatum var. italicum(Mill.) O.Targ.Tozz.
  • Arisarum italicum(Mill.) Raf.

Arum italicum is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Araceae, also known as Italian arum and Italian lords-and-ladies. [2] It is native to the British Isles [3] and much of the Mediterranean region, the Caucasus, Canary Islands, Madeira and northern Africa. It is also naturalized in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Argentina, North Island New Zealand and scattered locations in North America. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Description

It grows 30–46 cm (1–1.5 ft) high, with equal spread. It blooms in spring with white flowers that turn to showy red fruit. [2]

In 1778, Lamarck noticed that the inflorescence of this plant produces heat. [8] [9]

Leaves, fruits and rhizomes contain compounds that make them poisonous. Notably, the plants are rich in oxalates. The ingestion of the plant may be fatal, as it affects the kidneys, digestive tract, and brain. [10]

Cultivation

It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for traditional and woodland shade gardens. [2] Subspecies italicum (the one normally grown in horticulture) has distinctive pale veins on the leaves, whilst subspecies neglectum (known as late cuckoo pint [11] ) has faint pale veins, and the leaves may have dark spots. [12] Nonetheless, intermediates between these two subspecies also occur, and their distinctiveness has been questioned. [13] [14] Some gardeners use this arum to underplant with Hosta , as they produce foliage sequentially: when the Hosta withers away, the arum replaces it in early winter, maintaining ground-cover. [15] Numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use, of which A. italicum subsp. italicum 'Marmoratum' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [16]

Invasive species

Arum italicum can be invasive in some areas, particularly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. [15] [17] [18] It is very difficult to control once established. Herbicides kill the foliage of the plant, but may not affect the tuber. Manual control may spread the plants through the dissemination of soil contaminated with bulb and root fragments. [19]

Taxonomy

Within the genus, A. italicum belongs to subgenus Arum, section Arum. [20]

Arum italicum may hybridize with Arum maculatum . [21] The status of two subspecies currently included in Arum italicum, subsp. albispathum (Crimea to the Caucasus) and subsp. canariense (Macaronesia), is uncertain and they may represent independent species. [13]

A. italicum generally has a chromosome count of 2n = 84, except that a few subspecies (such as subsp. albispathum) have 2n = 56. [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>Arum maculatum</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Zantedeschia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the arum family Araceae

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.

<i>Hosta</i> Undulata Flowering plant cultivar

Hosta 'Undulata' is a cultivar of the genus Hosta, widely cultivated as ornamental plants in borders or as specimen plants. It was formerly regarded as a species under the name Hosta undulata(Otto & A.Dietr.) L.H.Bailey. It is not accepted as a species by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as of August 2011, and has been relegated to cultivar status by Schmid.

<i>Arisaema triphyllum</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

Cuckoo pint refers to more than one species of the genus Arum:

<i>Arum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae

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".

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

Scadoxus is a genus of African and Arabian plants in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. The English names blood lily or blood flower are used for some of the species. The genus has close affinities with Haemanthus. Species of Scadoxus are grown as ornamental plants for their brilliantly coloured flowers, either in containers or in the ground in frost-free climates. Although some species have been used in traditional medicine, they contain poisonous alkaloids.

<i>Eucomis autumnalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Eucomis autumnalis, the autumn pineapple flower, or autumn pineapple lily, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, native to Malawi, Zimbabwe and southern Africa. It is a mid to late summer flowering deciduous bulbous perennial. The flower stem reaches about 40 cm (16 in), rising from a basal rosette of wavy-edged leaves. The green, yellow or white flowers are arranged in a spike (raceme), topped by a "head" of green leaflike bracts. It is grown as an ornamental garden plant and can also be used as a cut flower.

<i>Orontium aquaticum</i> Species of flowering plant

Orontium aquaticum, sometimes called golden-club, floating arum, never-wets or tawkin, is a species of flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is the single living species in the genus Orontium, which also contains several extinct species described from fossils. O. aquaticum is endemic to the eastern United States and is found growing in ponds, streams, and shallow lakes. It prefers an acidic environment. The leaves are pointed and oval with a water repellent surface. The inflorescence is most notable for having an extremely small almost indistinguishable sheath surrounding the spadix. Very early in the flowering this green sheath withers away leaving only the spadix.

<i>Argyranthemum frutescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Argyranthemum frutescens, known as Paris daisy, marguerite or marguerite daisy, is a perennial plant known for its flowers. It is native to the Canary Islands. Hybrids derived from this species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants in private gardens and public parks in many countries, and have naturalized in Italy and southern California. There are many cultivars, but the most common has white petals.

<i>Crocus biflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Crocus biflorus, the silvery crocus or scotch crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia, including Italy, the Balkans, Ukraine, Turkey, Caucasus, Iraq, and Iran. It is a cormous perennial growing to 6 cm (2.4 in) tall and wide. It is a highly variable species, with flowers in shades of pale mauve or white, often with darker stripes on the outer tepals. The flowers appear early in spring.

<i>Eucomis pallidiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Eucomis pallidiflora, the giant pineapple lily, is a bulbous species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, native to southern Africa. The white to green flowers appear in summer and are arranged in a spike (raceme), topped by a "head" of green leaflike bracts. Some forms reach almost 2 m when in flower. The species is cultivated as an ornamental plant, although it is not hardy in areas where severe frosts occur.

<i>Arum cylindraceum</i> Species of plant

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, and in Turkey. It is also missing in northwestern France and southern Italy.

<i>Arum orientale</i> Species of plant

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.

Arum italicum subsp. canariense is a flowering plant subspecies in the family Araceae.

Arum italicum subsp. albispathum is a flowering plant subspecies in the family Araceae.

<i>Arum italicum <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> italicum</i> Subspecies of plant

Arum italicum subsp. italicum is a flowering plant subspecies in the family Araceae.

<i>Arum concinnatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Araceae

Arum concinnatum, commonly known as the Crete arum, is a flowering plant species in the family Araceae.

<i>Biarum tenuifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Araceae

Biarum tenuifolium is a tuberous flowering plant species in the family Araceae.

Arum byzantinum is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae. It was described in 1836.

References

  1. 1 2 "Arum italicum Mill". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 1 2 3 MBG- hort. . accessed 11.1.2011
  3. ↑ P.A. Stroh; T. A. Humphrey; R.J. Burkmar; O.L. Pescott; D.B. Roy; K.J. Walker (eds.). "Arum italicum Mill". BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1-560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  5. ↑ Castroviejo, S. & al. (eds.) (2008). Flora Iberica 18: 1-420. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Madrid.
  6. ↑ Dobignard, D. & Chatelain, C. (2010). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: 1-455. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  7. ↑ Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map
  8. ↑ Meeuse, B.J.D. 1975. Films of liquid crystals as an aid in pollination studies. In Pollination and Dispersal, ed N.B.M. Brantjes, H.F. Linskens, pp 19-20. Nijmegen. The Netherlands: Dep. Botany, Univ. Nijmegen.
  9. ↑ Wilhelm Pfeffer, The Physiology of Plants: A Treatise Upon the Metabolism and ..., Volume 3
  10. ↑ Prakash Raju, K. N. J.; Goel, Kishen; Anandhi, D.; Pandit, Vinay R.; Surendar, R.; Sasikumar, M. (2018). "Wild tuber poisoning: Arum maculatum – A rare case report". International Journal of Critical Illness and Injury Science. 8 (2): 111–114. doi: 10.4103/IJCIIS.IJCIIS_9_18 . ISSN   2229-5151. PMC   6018264 . PMID   29963416.
  11. ↑ Late cuckoo pint at aphotoflora.com: retrieved 3 October 2020
  12. ↑ C T Prime (1961). "Taxonomy and Nomenclature in Some Species of the Genus Arum L" (PDF). Watsonia. 5 (2): 106–9.
  13. 1 2 Boyce, P.C. (2002). "Arum - a Decade of Change". Aroideana. 29: 132–139.
  14. ↑ Boyce, P.C. (2006). "New Observations on Arum italicum". The Plantsman. 5 (1): 36–39.
  15. 1 2 Clark County Master Gardeners Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Arum italicum subsp. italicum 'Marmoratum'" . Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  17. ↑ National Park Service, Exotic Plant Management Team
  18. ↑ "Invasive Italian arum". West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  19. ↑ "Control Options for Italian Arum". Whatcom County, Washington. Whatcom County Noxious Weed Board. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  20. 1 2 Boyce, Peter (1993). The Genus Arum. London: HMSO. ISBN   0-11-250085-4.
  21. ↑ Plantsman v13:3, p142, September 2014; Royal Horticultural Society
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.