Flora of the Month - June 2010 - Jack-in-the-pulpit

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Pine Hill Arboretum yet to see the Trillium featured last month, this month we will give you yet another reason to stroll through the beautiful pathways.

Featured as our June Flora of the Month, Jack-in-the-pulpit is a beautifully unique native species.  Also known as Bog onion, Indian turnip or Brown dragon, this plant is much more attractive than its many names let on.  Grown from a corm or bulbo-tuber, this herbaceous plant has trifoliate leaves and is often mistaken for Poison Ivy before it flowers in the late Spring.

The spathe or “the pulpit” of this plant resembles a petal and is of attractive color to lure the flies that pollinate the species.  The spathe wraps around and contains the spadix or “Jack” which resembles an inflorescense or small cluster of tiny flowers on a stem-like structure.  In late summer, fruits will develop on the spadix and turn bright red by the end of fall just as the plant goes dormant for the winter.  

This species will be flowering until the end of the month, so don’t miss your chance to take in the Pine Hill Arboretum and discover this native gem.