2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Aronnik spotted (lat. Arum maculatum) - type species of the genus Aronnik (lat. Arum), is a herbaceous flowering perennial plant. The genus Aronnik is ranked by botanists in the Aroid family (lat. Araceae). All parts of the plant are highly poisonous, especially the attractive red fruits. True, people manage to use the starchy rhizome for nutrition, having previously fried it well.
What's in your name
The wide distribution of Aronica spotted in Europe, as well as in Turkey and the Caucasus, gave the plant many names, including such as: Wild arum, Arum lily, Lords and ladies, Devils and angels, Adam and Eve, Naked girls, Naked boys, Starch Root, Rocker Vagrant, Monk Convertible and so on.
Description
Perennial Aronica spotted is supported by a thick tuberous rhizome, which remains in the soil during the dormant period of the plant. In mature plants, tubers are often located at a depth of 40 centimeters.
In April-May, the picturesque green leaves of Aronnikus spotted, covered with purple spots, appear on the surface of the earth, the culprits of the specific Latin epithet of the plant "maculatum" ("spotted"). Following the leaves, a fleshy peduncle appears, on which an inflorescence called "spadix" is located. The inflorescence is formed by small flowers and is partially enclosed in a pale green "veil" or leafy "hood". At the base of the spadex is a ring of female flowers, and above the peduncle is a ring of male flowers.
Above the male flower ring, the plant has made a hairy insect trap. To attract pollinating insects, Aronnica exudes a fecal odor, and also maintains the temperature in the inflorescence up to 15 degrees Celsius, when the air temperature around the plant is much lower. Before getting out of the inflorescence, having feasted on pollen and warmed up in the warmth, the trapped insects “stain” their legs and wings in pollen, which is then transferred to other plants, pollinating female flowers on them.
The color of the inflorescence of Aronica spotted can be yellow, but purple inflorescences are more common.
In the fall, the lower ring of their female flowers forms a cluster of bright red or orange fruit-berries, which remain on the surface of the earth when the leaves have already died.
The toxicity of berries
The attractive appearance of the berries is very deceiving. Behind the natural beauty are berries that are extremely poisonous for humans. The chemicals in the berries have microscopic needle-like crystals that irritate the skin, tongue, mouth and throat, causing throat swelling, making breathing difficult and causing burning pain, and stomach upset.
True, the pungent taste of berries causes an almost instant tingling sensation in the mouth, and therefore rarely anyone decides to continue to feast on them in such quantities that will be hazardous to health. However, poisoning does happen.
Not only berries are toxic, but also all parts of the plant. However, small rodents feast on the inflorescences of the plant without bad consequences for the body.
Usage
The root tubers of Aronica spotted can be quite large and have been used by humans to produce starch. For example, in the middle of the fifteenth century, when Europeans did not yet know about such plants as potatoes and corn, the nuns of Zion Abbey (Great Britain) made starch from Aronnik's tubers to starch canvases for the church altar.
The rhizome of Aronnik spotted was also used for washing clothes, since the presence of saponins in them gives a soapy effect.
Well-fried rhizome tubers are eaten. But you should know the exact recipe for their preparation, so as not to get poisoned.
The mottled and variegated leaves, as well as the vibrant fruits of the plant, make it an attractive garden decoration, especially in the fall.
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