Araceae FAMILY

Arum italicum

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant contains calcium oxylate crystals. These cause an extremely unpleasant sensation similar to needles being stuck into the mouth and tongue if they are eaten, but they are easily neutralized by thoroughly drying or cooking the plant or by steeping it in water[ 65 Title A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Publication Author Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. Publisher Wolfe Year 1984 ISBN 0723408394 Description Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far. ].

Botanical Description

Arum italicum is a herbaceous, perennial plant growing from an underground corm around 5cm long. The plant produces a cluster of basal leaves 15 - 35cm long, plus one or more flowering spathes 15 - 40cm tall[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is often grown as an ornamental, valued especially for its flowering spathe and variegated leaves, and is sometimes grown in pots as a houseplant.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeWestern Europe - Britain, France to southern Spain, throughout the Mediterrnean to Turkey, the Caucasua and Irag

HabitatStony ground near the sea, hedges and among old walls, often on calcareous soils[ 17 Title Flora of the British Isles. Publication Author Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. Publisher Cambridge University Press Year 1962 ISBN - Description A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures. , 90 Title Bulbs Publication Author Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Publisher Pan Books Year 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1 Description Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat. , 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ].