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Plants
of Southern New Jersey
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Plant
Profile
Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott
Jack in the Pulpit, Indian turnip
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| Photo
by Renee Brecht |
Britton and Brown. See
credits below.** |
| Botanical name: |
Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott |
| Common
name: |
Jack in the pulpit |
| Synonomy: |
n/a |
| Group: |
monocot |
| Family: |
Araceae |
| Growth
Type: |
forb/herb |
| Duration: |
perennial |
| Origin: |
native |
| Plant
height: |
1-3' |
| Foliage: |
1 or 2 leaves, long stalked, 3 parted |
| Flower
size: |
tiny, within a "pulpit" (spathe) which is 3-4" in height |
| Fruit: | red berries |
| Flowering/fruiting time |
late April to mid-May; fruits late July to August |
| Habitat: |
moist to wet, shaded soils of woods and edges, swamps and bogs, slopes |
| Range
in
New Jersey: |
statewide, outside the Pine Barrens |
| Heritage ranking if any: |
n/a |
| Distribution: |
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| Misc.: |
Stone, in 1910, says of this plant, "The familiar
Jack-in-the-Pulpt is one of those plants that disappears as soon as we
enter the Pine Barrens. In northern and western Jersey we find it in
damp woods associated with the Skunk Cabbage, Dog-toothed Violet,
Spring Beauty and May Apple, but in the swamps of the Pine region not
one of the group is to be found."(314)
The corm is edible after
extensive drying or baking; the calcium oxalate crystals present in the
plant prohibit it from being eaten raw. Native American peoples used A. triphyllum medicinally
for sore eyes, rheumatism, bronchitis, colds, and various skin
infections. Use of this plant internally can be deadly. |
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Sources
**USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. |
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