''Arisarum vulgare'', common name the friar's cowl or larus, is an herbaceous,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ho ...

plant in the genus

Arisarum ''Arisarum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, east to the Caucasus and west to Macaronesia. Species Accepted species: Natural Hybrids # '' Arisarum × aspergillum'' Dunal - Spain ...

belonging to the family

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). A ...

Description

''Arisarum vulgare'' reaches on average of height. The leaves of this geophyte plant are basal only, wide, ovate to arrow-shaped, with a petiole long. The stems are erect and unbranched, usually mottled and grow directly from the underground rhizome. A single leaflike bract (spathe) forms a purplish-brown or olive green striped tube about 5 inches long, with an open upper part helmet or hood-shaped curved forward. It encloses a fleshy greenish clublike spike (spadix) bent forward, protruding from the tube and bearing at the bottom minute purple violet flowers. The 20 male flowers are located above the four to six female, with sterile flowers completely missing. The flowering period extends from October through May. The sexes are united in the same individual plant. Pollination is granted by insects (

entomophily Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, som ...

). The fruits are greenish berries of about long.

Distribution

''Arisarum vulgare'' is native to the Mediterranean Basin, from the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

in the east to the southeastern

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

in the west, where it introgresses with Arisarum simorrhinum.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
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Habitat

''Arisarum vulgare'' prefers grassy fields and rocky scrubland, forests and wasteland, mainly in shady and cool places and in moist soils, at an altitude of above sea level.

Subspecies

The main described subspecies are the following: * ''Arisarum vulgare'' O.Targ.Tozz. subsp. ''vulgare'' (above described) * ''Arisarum vulgare'' O.Targ.Tozz. subsp. ''simorrhinum'' (Durieu) Maire & Weiller In ''Arisarum vulgare'' subsp. ''simorrhinum'' the flower stem is much shorter than the petioles. Bract and spadix are erect. The latter is thickened at the tip.

Gallery

File:Arisarum vulgare CBM.jpg, Botanical drawing of ''Arisarum vulgare'', Curtis's Botanical Magazine (1873) File:Arisarum vulgare (trebol-a).jpg, Plants of ''Arisarum vulgare'' File:Araceae - Arisarum vulgare-1 (2).JPG, Plants of ''Arisarum vulgare'' File:Araceae - Arisarum vulgare-2.JPG, Close-up on ''Arisarum vulgare'' File:Araceae - Arisarum vulgare (2).JPG, Leaf of ''Arisarum vulgare'' File:Arisarum_vulgare.jpg, Young ''Arisarum vulgare''

Synonyms

References

* Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia - Edagricole – 1982 - Vol. II, pag. 629 * Tutin, T.G. et al. - Flora Europaea, second edition - 1993

External links

Arisareae
en ''

Wikispecies Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a comprehensive open content catalogue of all species; the project is directed at scientists, rather than at the general public. Jimmy Wa ...

''.
Flora europaea

Biolib

Arisarum vulgare

Malta Plants
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1644587 Aroideae Flora of the Canary Islands Flora of the Caucasus Flora of Southwestern Europe Flora of Southeastern Europe Plants described in 1810