Arum italicum subsp. italicum
Italian Lords-and-Ladies
Araceae
May to June
It is found mainly in the Southwest, the South and the
Southeast.
It is thinly scattered elsewhere.
See the BSBI distribution map for Rare Lords-and-Ladies
It is a neophyte, which has been grown in England since
the 1680s and known in the wild since the early 1900s.
It grows as a naturalised, garden escape in scrub and
shaded places such as hedge banks. It is bird-sown
and is also spread as garden waste.
It may be on the increase.
Rare Lords-and-Ladies is a perennial, rhizomatous
perennial herb, growing up to 30cm.
The structure containing the flowers is a broad, pale
yellow spathe up to 45cm.
Inside the spathe is a cream spadix up to 12cm.
Below the spadix are some yellow downward-pointing
hairs which allow insects in but not out.
Below the hairs there are rings of male flowers each
with 4 yellow stamens.
Below the stamens there are numerous cream, female
flowers which have white, sessile, capitate stigmas.
Pollination is by small flies that are attracted to the
spadix and trapped in the base of the spathe by the
hairs.
The fruiting spike start off with green berries that turn
orange and red in late summer.
The leaves appear in September and are dark green and
marbled with creamy veins.
After flowering the leaves disappear.
Stems are fleshy.
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Rare Lords-and-Ladies beneath a Lilac tree
Spathe and spadix
Spadix and swelling containing the flowers
Spadix, hairs, male and female flowers
Close-up of downward pointing hairs, and
male flowers above the female flowers
Green berries in late June
Red berries in August
Marbled leaf
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