Common Name:

General Information

Arum dioscoridis is a herbaceous, perennial plant growing from an underground corm around 5 - 10cm in diameter and up to 3cm thick. The plant produces a cluster of basal leaves 13 - 45cm long and up to 27cm wide plus one, occasionally up to three, flowering spathes up to 40cm tall[].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is often grown as an ornamental, valued especially for its flowering spathe.

Known 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[].

Botanical References

Range

Eastern Mediterranean - Cyprus, Aegean, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan

Habitat

Hedges and rocky places, often on calcareous soils[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.30 m
Pollinators	Flies
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Arum dioscoridis is a plant of Mediterranean climates with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. It comes into growth in the late autumn with the return of the rains, flowering in the spring before becoming dormant in the summer drought. It does experience frosts during its growing season, but is not very hardy, tolerating occasional temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[].
Prefers a humus rich soil and abundant water in the growing season[]. Grows well in woodland conditions[]. Succeeds in sun or shade.
A polymorphic species[].
The inflorescence is pollinated by flies and it smells of dung and carrion in order to attract the flies[]. It also has the remarkable ability to heat itself above the ambient air temperature to such a degree that it is quite noticeable to the touch[]. This probably protects the flowers from damage by frost, or allows it to penetrate frozen ground.
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[].

Edible Uses

Tuber - cooked and used as a vegetable[, , , ]. It must be thoroughly dried or cooked before being eaten - see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal

The root is abortifacient[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse or cold frame as soon as it is ripe[]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 6 months at 15°c[]. Stored seed should be sown in the spring in a greenhouse and can be slow to germinate, sometimes taking a year or more. A period of cold stratification might help to speed up the process. Sow the seed thinly, and allow the seedlings to grow on without disturbance for their first year, giving occasional liquid feeds to ensure that they do not become mineral deficient. When the plants are dormant in the autumn, divide up the small corms, planting 2 - 3 in each pot, and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for a further year, planting out when dormant in the autumn.
Division of the corms in summer after flowering[]. Larger corms can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up the smaller corms and grow them on for a year in a cold frame before planting them out.