| Description | A native wild flower forming a green or purple brown hooded spathe. |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | Wild Flowers |
| Hardiness Zone | 4 |
| Sunlight | shade to partial shade |
| Moisture | wet spots in deciduous woods, along stream and in meadows |
| Soil & Site | tolerates a variety of conditions, prefers humus-rich, moist soil with a ph of 5-6. |
| Flowers | The flower consists of an erect spadix (spike flower) sitting (subtended) inside of a green to purplish spathe, covered with a hood. Forms a cluster of globose green berries that ripen bright red. The spadix produces the pollen deep in the spathe. Smaller insects are able to get down to the bottom and out to cross-pollinate the plant. The base becomes the burial ground for many larger insects. |
| Fruit | globose green berries, ripen bright red. |
| Leaves | One or two large leaves each divided into three deeply veined leaflets. |
| Stems | corm |
| Dimensions | Reaches 12-24" tall. |
| Propagation | root division, difficult from seed, cold stratification may help germination |
| Native Site | Eastern North America and adjacent Canada |
| Misc Facts | Jack is the "spadix" inside of the pulpit the "spathe". Also called Indian Turnip since they ate the roots (corms). The roots contain a very bitter, calcium oxalate, which will burn the mouth or cause more damage if swallowed. The corms need to be properly prepared to eliminate the calcium oxalate. aka :Bog Onion, Brown Dragon, Indian turnip, American Wake Robin, Wild Turnip |
| Author's Notes | I have used this plant successfully by providing the proper site conditions. Allow the seeds to ripen and fall to the ground to increase your patch of plants. Learn to recognize the seedlings so as not to yank them out in the spring. The book "The Secrets of Wildflowers by Jack Sanders has an excellent section on Jack-in-the-Pulpit. |
| Notes & Reference | #13-Growing Woodland Plants (Birdseye), #41-Wildflowers of Wisconsin (Stan Teikiela), #69-Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada ( Gleason, Cronquist), #82-The Secrets of Wild Flowers (Sanders) |
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