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Arisaema triphyllum

Arisaema triphyllum: Flowers
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Common name:	Jack In The Pulpit	Family:	Araceae
Author:	(L.)Schott.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:	Arum triphyllum (L.), Arisaema stewardsonii (Britton.), Arisaema atrorubens ((Aiton.)Blume.)
Known 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.
Range:	Eastern N. America - Quebec to Louisiana and Kansas.
Habitat:	Wet woods, bogs and swamps[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. atrorubens var. stewardsonii[B,P] A. triphyllum ssp. stewardsonii[B,P] A. triphyllum ssp. triphyllum[B,P] Arum atrorubens[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Arum [H], American Wake Robin [H], Aronknolle [E], Arum [E], Devil's Ear [H], Dragon Root [H], Indian Onion [E], Indian Turnip [H,L,E], Jack In The Pulpit [P], Jack-In-The-Pulpit [S], Jack-in-the-Pulpit [H,L,S], Jack-in-the-pulpit [H,B], Pepper Turnip [H], Stewardson's Jack-In-The-Pulpit [S], Wake Robin [H], Wild Turnip [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	triphyllum = 3 leaved;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Arales. Arum family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	France; Germany; Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Appalachia); Us(Colonial); Us(Menomini); Us(Meskwaki); Us(Ojibwe); Us(Pa)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.45m . It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from June to July. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Flies. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Root.

Tuber - it must be thoroughly dried or cooked before being eaten[2, 21, 55, 57, 95, 102]. The roots can be cut into very thin slices and allowed to dry for several months, after which they are eaten like potato chips, crumbled to make a cereal or ground into a cocoa-flavoured powder for making biscuits, cakes etc[177, 183]. They can also be pounded into a powder, this is thern left to dry for several weeks when it becomes safe to use[213]. The root is up to 5cm long and 2cm wide[4]. Caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Acrid; Antiseptic; Contraceptive; Diaphoretic; Expectorant; Irritant; Poultice; Stimulant.

The root is acrid, antiseptic, diaphoretic, expectorant, irritant and stimulant[21, 46, 222, 238, 257]. It is harvested in early spring and dried for later use[4]. The fresh root is considered to be too dangerous and intensely acrid to use, whilst the dried roots become inactive, so fresh, partially dried roots are used[213]. Due to the potentially toxic nature of this plant, it should only be used internally under the supervision of a qualified practitioner[K].
The root was applied as a poultice on headaches, scrofulous sores, rheumatism, boils, abscesses and ringworm[222, 257]. A decoction of the root has been used as a wash for sore eyes[257].
The root was used as a contraceptive by the N. American Indians. One teaspoonful of the dried powdered root in cold water was said to prevent conception for a week whilst two teaspoonfuls in hot water was said to induce permanent sterility[213].

Other Uses

Musical; Starch.

A starch obtained from the roots is used as a stiffener for clothes[207]. It is very harsh to the hands, causing blisters and swellings[207].
The seeds have been used in rattles[257].

Cultivation details

Prefers a cool peaty soil in the bog garden, woodland garden or a sheltered border in semi-shade[90, 134, 200]. Prefers a loamy or peaty soil and will tolerate a sunny position if the soil is moist but not water-logged and the position is not too hot or exposed[1, 200].
Tubers should be planted about 10cm deep[233]. Only plant out full sized tubers and mulch them with organic matter in the winter[200]. Plants need protection from slugs[200].
Most species in this genus are dioecious, but they are sometimes monoecious and can also change sex from year to year.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a shady position in a cold frame[134]. Stored seed remains viable for at least a year and can be sown in spring in the greenhouse but it will probably require a period of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place in 1 - 6 months at 15°c[134]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least a coupe of years until the corms are more than 20mm in diameter. Plant out into their permanent positions whilst they are dormant.
Division of tubers when the plant dies down in late summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Arisaema atrorubens (a possible synonym).

[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

References for Arisaema stewardsonii (a possible synonym).

[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

References for Arisaema triphyllum ssp. stewardsonii (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Arisaema triphyllum ssp. triphyllum (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Arum triphyllum (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for the family Araceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[90] Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.

[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.

[102] Kavasch. B. Native Harvests. Vintage Books 1979 ISBN 0-394-72811-4
Another guide to the wild foods of America.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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