the ripening

it's interesting, the range of opinions on arum italicum.

all the way from a rousing endorsement on fine gardening to dire warnings advising one to slash&burn this plant to the ground (or, preferably, below it).  i quote the praise:  "[the plants] will add great color and diversity to the garden with their attractively marked leaves."  (however, be duly warned that "the berries may cause severe discomfort or illness if ingested." in my observations, this must only be for humans - or, at least, not the case for birds.)  but, then, we can turn to the National Park Service's Exotic Plant Management Team: "Italian Arum, also known as Orange Candleflower, Cuckoo’s Pint, and Italian Lords-and-Ladies, is a growing threat in the East."  Should one regret adding this plant to the garden, "italian arum is notoriously difficult to eradicate once established....and burning eradicates foliage alone."  So don't think torching your yard will help your predicament.

i rather enjoyed this British site (they have a different arum variety over there, called maculatum).  i took special note of their keen descriptions, such as:  "The flowering organs are contained in a sheath-like leaf called a spathe, within which rises a long, fleshy stem, or column called the spadix, bearing closely arranged groups of stalkless, primitive flowers. At the base are a number of flowers each consisting of a pistil only. Above these is a belt of sterile flowers, each consisting of only a purplish anther. Above the anther is a ring of glands, terminating in short threads. The spadix is then prolonged into a purple, club-like extremity."  actually, to be honest (and, really, let's all be honest here), i enjoyed every single one of their extremely educational horticultural and historical explorations of this fascinating plant.  &, as a bonus, it is so helpful to finally have the correct terminology!

a spot-on illustration of the process
by which the Ladies
turned into Lords.

the Ladies, after a rain.

it was the leaves that first caught my eye in the garden, soon after we moved into the house.  they were a bit like philodendron leaves and seemed pretty enough.  i put them in the 'likes shade - that's nice' plant category in my head & kind of forgot about them.  it actually took me a couple of years to figure out these pretty, ruffled, and deeply veined leaves were at all connected to the brilliant orange berries that were showing up in our yard each summer.  i had never looked closely enough, beneath the leaves, to watch the incubation.

the Lords, just emerging from beneath the Ladies, in pale green spathes.

these spadix, as they appear to be called, are, at first, mostly hidden by the spathe.  initially, the spathe seems quite fragile, like rice paper.  kind of wilting around the newly-formed, pale yellow spadix.

a spadix, which will produce the much-anticipated berries.

but, three days later, it is a different story.  the spathes are fully-formed, firmly upright leaves that gently cup around the spadix and remind me of...well, this link will describe it better.  don't you agree?  i'm sure that's what they remind you of, as well.

i had only heard these referred to as Lords&Ladies, until i read the British site.  a Cuckoo Pint !  it is, apparently, a derivation of the Latin pintle.

the arum has tuberous roots, similar to a potato.  it spreads in the garden like a rabid beast.  &, though as a raw product it is to be avoided ("When fresh, the flesh yields a milky juice, almost insipid to the taste at first, but soon producing a burning and pricking sensation."), when baked it is edible and nutritious!  in years past, the plant had many inventive uses - with words of caution (or not):  'The most pure and white starch is made of the rootes of the Cuckoo-pint, but most hurtful for the hands of the laundresse that have the handling of it, for it chappeth, blistereth, and maketh the hands rough and rugged and withall smarting.'  poor laundresse!  and in 1850's Paris, it was made into poudre de cypre for one's face - egads!

there are, according to the Modern Herbal site, a thousand-and-one variety of arum.  i daresay it might take a lifetime to experience them all - and, surely, only if you are an intrepid traveler.  though Arum Dracunculus sounds tempting, i do believe i am okay not attracting a bunch of flies ~ "its lurid and striking spadix forms a handsome feature in a border yet its odour is decidedly strong and unpleasant resembling that of putrid meat, a fact which is evidently perceived by insects who swarm to it, especially in hot weather."

anyways....back to the arum at hand.

which is....in a move that is reminiscent of how an ear of corn must develop, the spathe collapses back around the pale yellow spadix, effectively sealing it away to work its magic.  sadly, it was a busy week, and i missed observation of this stage of collapse.

8 days later, this emerges.

the berries!  they are look but don't touch, as "one drop of their juice will cause a burning sensation in the mouth and throat for hours."  the spathe soon dries and falls away.

& the berries?  well, that is best shared visually....

~while we are waiting, here's a video of the Ladies dancing~
might we call it dance of the seven leaves?
it has a good ring to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so...............

waiting for berries to ripen

is a very similar endeavor

to boiling water.

it

takes

forever.

3 days later, they're still green.

 closer examination proves

that, yes, they are as green as green.

& in 3 more days?

(that's six days out, now)

the golden glow is from the sun.

though i suspect it will hasten

the ripening.

in 2 more days...

(that's eight days from berrybirth)

the Ladies have begun

to wilt.

some of the Ladies are lying prostrate on the ground, their stems having given in to gravity, the sun, and age.  they are turning, decidedly, yellow.  the one above reminds me of a ewe, with it's floppy, veined ears and narrow, pointed face.

so, the bird and i wait.

i've seen it circling,

the little gray catbird,

keeping an eye on the berries

just like me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

we are, now, about three weeks out from berrybirth, and there are two, old stubborn ladies still jealously guarding the stalks.  the rest of the ladies have long since passed, but these two stalwarts appear indestructible.  even this week of frying-pan heat hasn't dimmed their vigil.

the berries are starting to glow just a little bit yellow,

but i long to see the creeping flame of orange that i know is coming.

we are about to leave on a long summer trip.  & it is entirely likely that, when we return, the berries will be gone.  passing through the gut of that watchful catbird, peristalsis at its finest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i was not to be disappointed!
we were gone for twenty-one days,
and i was sure there would be only bare lords left to greet me.
but, lo and behold, they are bedecked with ripening berries - hooray!

there was little rain and much heat while we were gone,
so perhaps that slowed the process.

i've caught the berries in mid-stride,
with some still green,
others turned deep orange,
and a few disappeared into the aforementioned bird.

i am glad to have arrived home
before the stalks are plucked clean.



















i am also glad to bring this post
to a close.
it has been long in creation
& a thoughtful process for me.
but now i need to move on.
thank goodness the berries finally
cooperated.