Wild arum, Cuckoo-Pint

Description:

The green leaves with purple spottings appear in spring (March to May). A. maculatum is pollinated by insects in a quite interesting way. Within the inflorescence bract (the spathe) of Arum maculatum lie separate female flowers, male flowers and sterile flowers - together they offer a series of events that ensure cross pollination by certain small insects. As the inflorescence bract begins to open, the spadix produces a strong fetid smell and a temperature up to 15 degrees celsius. Insects such as Owl midges are attracted to the smell and fall into the lower chamber. Here these insects are trapped by the hair like sterile flowers at its mouth. At this time, stigmas of the female flowers at the base of the chamber are receptive and, as the insects clamber around trying to escape, they pollinate the stigmas. Then the male flowers mature, shedding large quantities of pollen and thoroughly dusting the insects. Now the insects can escape as the sterile flowers at the mouth of the chamber wither (source: Plant Science Image Database). 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.

Habitat:

Woodland, prefers calcerous soil.

Notes:

The berries are extremely poisonous.