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.
Arum italicum grows high, with equal spread. It blooms in spring with white flowers that turn to showy red fruit.
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.
A. italicum generally has a chromosome count of 2n = 84, except that a few subspecies (such as subsp.
albispathum) have 2n = 56.
Taxonomy: Within the genus,
A. italicum belongs to subgenus
Arum, section
Arum.
Arum italicum may hybridize with
Arum maculatum. 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.
Distribution and habitat: Arum italicum nativity by subspecies is as follows:
- A. italicum subsp. italicum is native to Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Corse, Cyprus, France, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Morocco, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, and Yugoslavia.
- A. italicum subsp. albispathum is native to Krym, North Caucasus, Transcaucasus, and Turkey.
- A. italicum subsp. canariense is native to Azores, Canary Islands, and Madeira.
- A. italicum subsp. neglectum is native to Algeria, France, Great Britain, Morocco, and Spain.
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.
Invasive species: Arum italicum can be invasive 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. Additionally, the sap of the plant can cause skin irritation, so it is recommended that gloves should be worn when removing it from an area.
Cultivation: It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for traditional and woodland shade gardens. 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.