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Araceae FAMILY

Arisarum vulgare

Arisarum vulgare

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant contains calcium oxylate crystals. These cause an extremely unpleasant sensation similar to needles being stuck into the mouth and tongue if they are eaten but they are easily neutralized by thoroughly drying or cooking the plant or by steeping it in water[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Arisarum vulgare is a Mediterranean plant, growing best in areas that experience mild winters with ample rain. It commences growth in the autumn flowering in the winter and then becoming dormant in the spring as the weather becomes hotter and rainfall virtually ceases. The plant can tolerate some frost, especially if grown in a woodland, surviving occasionall short-lived temperatures down to about -10°c[2]. Outside of Mediterranean climates the plant is probably best grown under protection[3]. Prefers a woodland soil or a sandy loam with leafmould[4]. Grows well in shady rather moist places[4].

Propagation

Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a shady part of the greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the spring if this is possible. Sow stored seed in early spring. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on for at least the first winter in a greenhouse and plant out when dormant in the summer once the tuber has reached a reasonable size. Division in spring after the plant dies down[4]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Arisarum+vulgare>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Bulbs — Phillips. R. and Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1989 · ISBN 0-330-30253-1 ↩︎Superbly illustrated, it gives brief details on cultivation and native habitat.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1980 · ISBN 0-19-217626-9 ↩︎A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.
  6. [6]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  7. [7]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  9. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎