# Araceae

[thebashfulbotanist]

This weird plant is the recently described Bolivian endemic Gorgonidium striatum. Endemic means it's native to only one place and nowhere else - in this case, tropical rainforests on the eastern Andean slopes in Bolivia. As a member of the family Araceae, it has a spadix and spathe inflorescence, which means it has a spike of many tiny flowers (here they're dark purple-brown) surrounded by a big bract (modified leaf), which here is both mottled and striped with green, cream, and a bit of purple. It's an interesting one!

[syngoniums]

I was going to make a post about extricating long tuber Amorphophallus species from pots (they can put growth through the drainage holes, and end up needing to be cut out), but apparently we're making jokes instead

[slutge]

I put a lot of time into this 👉🏼👈🏼

[cedar-glade]

I really don’t know Jack still? do you? 

Maybe @spatheandspadix might shed some light on this one.

perhaps y’all have noticed extreme variations in populations of this classic spring plant.

Here is this one:

Narrow spathed, cupped, vibrant color, acuminate  and small. Potentially A. acuminatum???

Ahh yes, a classic to run into while out and about in the forest in May, I still don’t know what subspecies this is and its been in my drafts since like 2016, odd enough I didn’t think this complex would be unresolved this long considering the fact that cernua complex, rudbeckia fulgida complex, and eastern Viola complex(shout outs to Iris Copen and Dr. Harvey Ballard the homies from OU and ODNR/ONAPA) have all had papers since then and so far 3 subspecies have been noted and gone through chromosome analysis and ITS analysis. Non of which are the jack you see above.

Jack in the Pulpit is an incredibly variable and diverse complex/sect. that we see often enough. Morphological variants and subspecies are very noticeable when they occur due to multiple characteristics such as soil specific populations and floral ridges, dwarf like traits, or tapering like you see above. 

Flora of the south eastern USA states this:

“ A genus of about 150-170 species, of Asia, e. North America, e. Africa, and Arabia. Infrageneric taxonomy follows Ohi-Toma et al. (2016). The taxa of the Arisaema triphyllum complex have been variously treated as species, subspecies, varieties, and forms. They are here treated as species with relatively subtle morphological distinctions; they are broadly sympatric, and sometimes occur together in mixed populations with little sign of introgression or hybridization and seem to behave as biological species. Arisaema quinatum (mixed leaved jack) has often been treated as a full species and seems to warrant that status. Arisaema stewardsonii (big ridged hooded bog jack) seems amply distinct in morphology, northern distribution, and boggy habitat. Arisaema triphyllum (common jack) is tetraploid and does not produce fertile seed when crossed with the other (diploid) taxa, including A. pusillum (dwarf alkaline Jack), with which it is broadly sympatric (Treiber 1980).  The size (though diploid), strongly attenuated spathe apex, and geographic integrity seem good reason to accord A. acuminatum (narrow pointed long spathe jack) species status as well.  Species concepts in this treatment largely follow the review by Wyatt & Stoneburner (2022).”

All of this said we still have outliers like this one.

Opening like rich mesic hillside, overall alkaline.  Caldwell NP, Cincinnati Parks, Cincinnati Ohio.

[alleghenyfeverdreams]

Swamp fans rejoice! Three wetland aroid pins for all your hydric habitats:

-Wild calla

-Western skunk cabbage

-Eastern skunk cabbage

[spatheandspadix]

First flowering skunk cabbage of 2024!

[los-plantalones]

One of my favorite wildflowers!

Jack-in-the-pulpit is native to eastern north america and begins flowering around this time. Why is it one of my favorites? Well besides the fact that I ADORE arums and/or plants that smell like literal trash to seduce their victims, but also…

1) Jacks have the ability to switch between sexes (say the plant is female that year, but becomes stressed or diseased… it may become male the next year (typically old or large Jacks are female, and male Jacks are small or young). How delightful is that?!

2) SNEAKY MURDER GIRLS! Males have a small hole the bottom of their spathe (hood that covers their flower cluster), so that pollinators can escape and spread their pollen. BUT females have no escape hole in their spathe so anything that falls in is trapped forever, making successful pollination more likely.

*Sometimes female Jacks are referred to as Jills but I think that’s stupid. 🙂

[faguscarolinensis]

Caladium bicolor 'Red Flash' / 'Red Flash' Heart of Jesus at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[agavex]

Mouse tail plant (Arisarum proboscideum). April 2023.

[falseandrealultravival]

Today's Haiku with Picture 967

Araceae

Ornamental plants

Summer fatigue

サトイモ科

観葉植物

夏疲れ

(2023.08.20)

[quietachene]

[syngoniums]

Synandrospadix vermitoxicus, glaucous form.

[love-for-carnation]

Naturaleza muerta con claveles, 1943 Ricardo Martínez (1918–2009, Mexican)

[wenbochenphoto]

It doesn't look like a wild species, but more like a tropical nursery cultivar. I don't know much about #Araceae; guess it is a Schismatoglottis sp.? (West Sumatra, 800m)

[francescointoppa]

A - Arisarum vulgare O.Targ.Tozz. - Arisaro comune (Araceae)

[spatheandspadix]

Hangin out with the boyz