Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

A common wildflower oddity of the eastern deciduous forest, the jack-in-the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) grows in a variety of wooded habitats provided that some topsoil is present.  Best growth occurs along rich, moist lowland slopes although smaller individuals frequent drier upland slopes.  The "pulpit" part of the plant is called the spathe and houses a stalk of tiny flowers called a spadix ("jack").  Most jacks have one to two leaves with up to three leaflets each.  Average height is between 12-15" although in favorable growing conditions it is not uncommon to see an individual approach 30".  Once fertilized, the flowers on the spadix will develop into a bright red cluster of seeds by late summer. 

   

1 comment:

  1. Hi Bryan,

    I'm from The Allegheny Front, an environmental radio show based out of Pittsburgh. I'm starting to post a photo of the day or do a name this plant kind of a quiz. I think some of the photos and info you post here are fantastic and would be perfect for this. I'm wondering if I can post some of your photos to Facebook and Twitter, always linking back and providing credit.

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allegheny-Front/101567953207
    http://twitter.com/#!/AlleghenyFront

    Thanks,
    Ilana Yergin
    ilana.yergin@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete