Arum maculatumL. - Cuckoo-pint
Scientific Description:
Tuber horizontal. Petiole of leaves 13−50 cm, greenish to purplish. Lamina oblong-hastate to oblong-lanceolate when mature, obovate when young, 8−16 × 4−11(−17) cm, with usually short lateral lobes 1/6−1/4(−1/2) × middle lobe, obtuse or more rarely subacute to acute, usually with darker spots or blotches. Scape (4.5−)6.5−20(−26) cm, much shorter than petioles. Spathe (6.5−)11−18.5 cm, pale green, usually narrowly lanceolate and acuminate, less commonly broadly ovate; tube (1.5−)2.5−3.5 cm, whitish inside with a purple band across middle. Spadix ( 4−)6−9.5 cm, 0.35−0.45(−0.7) x spathe. Female zone 8−14(−18) mm; lower sterile zone 3−6.5 mm; male zone (1.5−)2.5−4 × 2−4 mm; upper sterile zone 4.5−7(−9) mm. Appendix purple, rarely yellow, (2.3−)2.7−6.5 cm, long-stipitate, stipe (0.5−)0.75−1.5 × club, paler; club shortly cylindrical or rarely conical, (0.8−)1.3(−4.5) cm × (1.5−)2.5−4(−5.2) mm.
Flowering Time: April−June.
Habitat: Deciduous woods, scrub, open or shady slopes, 80−1200 m.
Reference:
Mill RR (1984). Arum maculatum L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 8: 46.
Public Description:
Arum maculatum, common name “cuckoopint” or “lords and ladies”, is widespread across most of Europe, as well as Türkiye and the Caucasus. The Cuckoopint has purple-spotted leaves that appear in the spring, and then partly in a green leaf (spathe), followed by a bloom of a spadix on which the male and female tiny flowers are placed. This plant includes highly toxic some chemical compounds such as aronin(e) and aoin(e) which are needle-shaped crystals. These chemicals can irritate the skin, mouth, tongue, and throat, resulting in throat swelling, breathing difficulties, burning pain, and stomach upset.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2017). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arum_maculatum,/ Accessed date: 09.02.2017.
Anonymous 2 (2017). http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/arum_maculatum.htm, /Accessed date: 09.02.2017.
Alpınar K (2012). Arum L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 86–88.