Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Jack
in the pulpit
Preaches to-day,
Under the green trees
Just over the way.
Squirrel and song-sparrow,
High on their perch,
Hear the sweet lily-bells
Ringing to church.
Come, hear what his reverence
Rises to say,
In his low painted pulpit
This calm Sabbath-day....
Clara Smith / J. G. Whittier
Similar
to the heavy foliage seen on Mayapple, this
lily stands upright under an umbrella formed by two large,
three-lobed
leaves.
Shown as we first saw it—from eye-level—only the expansive foliage was visible.
We thought at first that it was a wildflower that had lost its blossoms for this season.
But
drawing closer, and kneeling, to get a closer ground-level look, we discovered Jack in
his pulpit, hidden away under the foliage umbrella.
Also known as Indian Turnip, Bog Onion, Wake Robin and Wild Turnip, this hardy, native perennial favors damp woodlands and open thickets.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit is found throughout eastern North America from the Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico and as far west as the Mississippi Valley.
Although as the names indicate, Indians and settlers found it edible—but only after a lengthy and laborious washing process—this is a dangerous plant to ingest: even small, residual, amounts of the oxalic acid crystals found in every part can burn the mouth and throat.
(Other lilies in the Gallery containing this element are Violet Wood Sorrel and Sour Grass.)
Comprised of two main parts—spadex and spathe—Arisaema triphyllum is so unusual in appearance, like Indian Pipe, that even a casual observer would not be likely to mistake it for any other lily.
"Jack" is the upright
spadex or "spur." As the spadex matures it will produce the actual blossoms for this unusual plant, covering the entire spur with tiny male and female flowers.
The "Pulpit" is the overhanging
spathe, ancient Greek for "broad, shovel-shaped."(Another "Jack" in the Gallery is Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon.)
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