Arum
Genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Arum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region.[1][2] Frequently called arum lilies, they are not closely related to the true lilies Lilium. Plants in closely related Zantedeschia are also called "arum lilies".
Arum | |
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Arum palaestinum | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Alismatales |
Family: | Araceae |
Subfamily: | Aroideae |
Tribe: | Areae |
Genus: | Arum L. |
Range of the genus Arum | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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They are rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial plants growing to 20–60 cm tall, with sagittate (arrowhead-shaped) leaves 10–55 cm long. The flowers are produced in a spadix, surrounded by a 10–40 cm long, distinctively coloured spathe, which may be white, yellow, brown, or purple. Some species are scented, others not. The fruit is a cluster of bright orange or red berries.
All parts of the plants, including the berries, are poisonous,[3] containing calcium oxalate as raphides. In spite of this, the plant has a history of culinary use among Arab peasants in Palestine who practised leaching the toxins from the plant before the leaves were consumed.[4][5][6]
The genus name is the Latinized form of the Greek name for these plants, aron.