Arum maculatum

Cuckoo Pint

a perennial member of the Arum genus in the family Araceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Family: Araceae
Genus: Arum
Life cycle: perennial
Height: 0.45 m
Fertility: Flies
Flower type: monoecious
Pollinators: Flies

Uses

Toxicity

Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.

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^[17].

Edible uses

Tuber - cooked and used as a vegetable^[8]^[6]. A mild flavour, the root contains about 25% starch^[19]. A farina can be extracted from the root^[8]. Roots can be harvested at any time of the year, though they are best when the plant is dormant[K]. At one time, the tubers of this plant were commonly harvested and used for food, but they are very rarely used nowadays[268, K]. The root must be thoroughly dried or cooked before being eaten, see the notes above on toxicity. Leaves - must be well cooked^[6]. Available from late winter. Caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Plant part: Leaves
Product or use: Cooked

Plant part: Root
Product or use: Cooked

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

Cuckoo pint has been little used in herbal medicine and is generally not recommended for internal use^[14]. The shape of the flowering spadix has a distinct sexual symbolism and the plant did have a reputation as an aphrodisiac, though there is no evidence to support this^[14]. The root is diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, strongly purgative and vermifuge^[16]^[20]^[7]^[10]. It should be harvested in the autumn or before the leaves are produced in the spring^[16]. It can be stored fresh in a cellar in sand for up to a year or can be dried for later use^[16]. The plant should be used with caution^[20], see notes above on toxicity. The bruised fresh plant has been applied externally in the treatment of rheumatic pain^[14]. A liquid from the boiled bark (of the stem?[K]) has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea^[11]. A homeopathic remedy is prepared from the root and leaves^[16]. It has been used in the treatment of sore throats^[16]^[14].

Plant part: All
Product or use: Antirheumatic

Plant part: Roots
Product or use: Diaphoretic

Plant part: Roots
Product or use: Diuretic

Plant part: Roots
Product or use: Expectorant

Plant part: Roots
Product or use: Purgative

Product or use: Homeopathy

Plant part: Bark
Product or use: Antidiarrheic

Material uses

Starch from the root has been used as a laundry starch for stiffening clothes^[16]^[18]^[2]. Its use is said to be very harsh on the skin, producing sores and blisters on the hands of the laundresses who have to use it^[18]^[2], though another report says that the powdered root makes a good and innocent cosmetic that can be used to remove freckles^[16].

Plant part: Roots
Product or use: Clothes stiffening

Environment

Range: Most of Europe, south and east of Sweden, including Britain, south to N. Africa.
Habitat: Hedgerows, woodlands, copses etc, especially on base-rich substrata^[20]^[5].
Light: full sun
Shade tolerance: permanent shade
Water: moderate
Hardiness: Zone 6+
Soil textures: sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH: acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil: No
Drought: intolerant

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse or cold frame as soon as it is ripe^[4]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 6 months at 15°c^[4]. Stored seed should be sown in the spring in a greenhouse and can be slow to germinate, sometimes taking a year or more. A period of cold stratification might help to speed up the process. Sow the seed thinly, and allow the seedlings to grow on without disturbance for their first year, giving occasional liquid feeds to ensure that they do not become mineral deficient. When the plants are dormant in the autumn, divide up the small corms, planting 2 - 3 in each pot, and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for a further year, planting out when dormant in the autumn. Division of the corms in summer after flowering^[9]. Larger corms can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up the smaller corms and grow them on for a year in a cold frame before planting them out.

Cultivation

Prefers a humus rich soil and abundant water in the growing season^[1]^[3]. Prefers a shady damp calcareous soil^[3]^[15]. Succeeds in sun or shade^[21]. Plants are very shade tolerant^[5] and grow well in woodland conditions^[1]. The inflorescence has the remarkable ability to heat itself above the ambient air temperature to such a degree that it is quite noticeable to the touch^[16]. Temperature rises of 11°c have been recorded^[13]. At the same time, the flowers emit a foul and urinous smell in order to attract midges for pollination^[13]. The smell disappears once the flower has been pollinated^[13]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer^[12].

References

F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
↩1 ↩2
Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969-00-00 ISBN 0192176218
↩1 ↩2
Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975-00-00 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
↩1 ↩2
Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988-00-00
↩1 ↩2
Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00
↩1 ↩2
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
↩1 ↩2
Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983-00-00 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
↩
Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
↩1 ↩2
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
↩
Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983-00-00 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
↩
Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980-00-00 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
↩
Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
↩
Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994-00-00 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
↩1 ↩2 ↩3
Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979-00-00 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
↩1 ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
↩
Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
↩1 ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8
Frohne. D. and Pf�nder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984-00-00 ISBN 0723408394
↩
Freethy. R. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-946284-51-2
↩1 ↩2
Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00
↩
Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981-00-00 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
↩1 ↩2 ↩3
Phillips. R. and Rix. M. Bulbs Pan Books 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-330-30253-1
↩

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