Italian arum – Identification
Q: An elderly friend gave me a couple of these plants last spring. He’s not sure what it is. They looked sickly all summer after I planted them. Then when fall and cooler weather came they took off like crazy. What is it?
A: It’s Italian arum – a GREAT winter plant for shade to part sun. I have mine combined with hellebores. The behavior you saw is simply the way it grows. It has a small tuber belowground that produces leaves in fall. The leaves grow rapidly and attractively through winter.
In April you’ll see a white, cupped flower emerge from the center of a clump. It will have a small “finger” sticking up in the center. The finger will soon be covered with red berries – the seed of the plant.
According to one source, the phallic appearance of the flower has given rise to several off-color comparisons to animal parts. “Cuckoo’s Pint” is the only one I can print here without blushing.
Leaves will die off by summer and the berries will fall to the ground…where they will germinate and give you more arum to enjoy.
CAUTION: All parts of this plant are toxic and irritate the skin. WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING.
CAUTION: This plant can be invasive in certain environments. It doesn’t seem so in mine, but I get random sprouts in unexpected places. Damp, shady woodlands have the most potential for invasiveness.
Italian arum
Italian arum flower
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