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Arum italicum is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Araceae, also known as Italian arum and Italian lords-and-ladies. It is native to the British Isles and much of the Mediterranean region, the Caucasus, Canary Islands, Madeira and northern Africa. It is also naturalized in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Argentina, North Island New Zealand and scattered locations in North America.Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1-560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.Castroviejo, S. & al. (eds.) (2008). Flora Iberica 18: 1-420. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC, Madrid.Dobignard, D. & Chatelain, C. (2010). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: 1-455. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
By relative inflorescence height, Arum species are divided into "cryptic" species, whose inflorescences are borne on a short peduncle amid or below the leaves, and "flag" species, whose inflorescences are above leaf level at the end of long peduncles. A. italicum is a cryptic species.
In 1778, Lamarck noticed that the inflorescence of this plant produces heat.Meeuse, B.J.D. 1975. Films of liquid crystals as an aid in pollination studies. In Pollination and Dispersal, ed N.B.M. Brantjes, H.F. Linskens, pp 19-20. Nijmegen. The Netherlands: Dep. Botany, Univ. Nijmegen.
A. italicum generally has a chromosome count of 2n = 84, except that a few subspecies (such as subsp. albispathum) have 2n = 56.
Arum italicum may hybridize with Arum maculatum.Plantsman v13:3, p142, September 2014; Royal Horticultural Society The status of two subspecies currently included in Arum italicum, subsp. albispathum (Crimea to the Caucasus) and subsp. canariense (Macaronesia), is uncertain and they may represent independent species.
Subspecies italicum has a multi-continental introduced presence, including in northeast Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, north New Zealand, and the U.S. states of Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New York, and North Carolina.
==Gallery==
Taxonomy
Within the genus, A. italicum belongs to subgenus Arum, section Arum.
Distribution and habitat
Arum italicum nativity by subspecies is as follows:
Invasive species
Arum italicum can be invasive species in some areas, particularly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is very difficult to control once established. Herbicides kill the foliage of the plant, but may not affect the tuber. Manual control may spread the plants through the dissemination of soil contaminated with bulb and root fragments.
Uses
In Croatia, its corms were eaten in times of famine.
Toxicity
Leaves, fruits and rhizomes contain compounds that make them poisonous. Notably, the plants are rich in oxalates. The ingestion of the tuber may be fatal, as it affects the kidneys, digestive tract, and brain.
Cultivation
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for traditional and woodland . Subspecies italicum (the one normally grown in horticulture) has distinctive pale veins on the leaves, whilst subspecies neglectum (known as late cuckoo pint
) has faint pale veins, and the leaves may have dark spots. Nonetheless, intermediates between these two subspecies also occur, and their distinctiveness has been questioned. Some gardeners use this arum to underplant with Hosta, as they produce foliage sequentially: when the Hosta withers away, the arum replaces it in early winter, maintaining ground-cover. Numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use, of which A. italicum subsp. italicum 'Marmoratum' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Bibliography
(2016). 9781780646954 ISBN 9781780646954
(2016). 9781493933297 ISBN 9781493933297
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