| Family: | Araceae |
|---|---|
| Common name: | arum family [Zomlefer, pp. 301-303] |
| Diversity: | Worldwide: 110 genera; 2,000 species U.S.: 20 genera PNW (Hitchcock & Cronquist): 2 genera |
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| Flower | |
|---|---|
| K/Co4-6, 0 S1-6 P(1-3) | |
| Sexuality: | bisexual or unisexual |
| Symmetry: | actinomorphic |
| Inflorescence: | spadix (=spike of crowded flowers on fleshy axis) |
| Calyx (sepals)/ Corolla (petals): |
4-6 separate or connate, sometimes absent (in unisexual) |
| Androecium: | 6 separate, sometimes staminodes (=sterile stamens) also present in female flowers |
| Gynoecium: | 1-3, united carpels, superior ovary (=hypogynous), sometimes embedded in the spadix |
| Fruit: | berry |
| Other features: | large, showy (petaloid) spathe (bract), found below and sometimes enclosing the spadix.
with unisexual flowers, plants usually monoecious with male flowers above female flowers in spadix often foul (fetid) odor associated with flowers |
| Vegetative Features | |
|---|---|
| watery or milky sap raphides (calcium oxalate crystals) in tissue |
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| Leaves: | alternate or opposite, simple or compound, can be parallel, pinnately, or palmately veined, petiole with sheathing base, exstipulate |
| Life-history: | perennial |
| Habit: | herbs, rarely woody, some epiphytes |
| Distribution & Ecology: | mostly tropical, some temperate some species are marsh plants |
| Some Northwest Genera: | Acorus, sweet flag Lysichitum, skunk cabbage |
| Economic Importance | |
|---|---|
| Crops: | tropical species often grown for tubers (e.g. Colocasia = taro) |
| Ornamentals: | houseplants: Dieffenbachia dumbcane; Philodendron Zantedeschia, arum lily, calla lily |
| Weedy and pest species: | |
| Examples | Arisaema |
|---|---|
| Lysichitum |
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| Symplocarpus |
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| click on the genus name for a flower image | |
Links to Other Web Sites
| International Aroid Society | |
| Krzysztof Kozminski's Araceae Links |
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