Jack-In-The-Pulpit

The Jack-in-the-pulpit, also known as Indian turnip, is a plant flowering from April to June in moist woods, by streams, and in marshy meadows. The flowers are hidden inside the cylindrical structure call the "Jack".  Each leaf has three segments. (You can see this well in the top picture.) The three leaf segments gave rise to the scientific name Arisaema triphyllum (tri- three). The spathe or "pulpit" is just a modified leaf from which the Jack (spadix) extends. The spadix is inside with the true flowers. The spadix produces a mushroom-like odor attracting an insect called the "fungus fly". These flies are attracted to the plant and assist in transferring pollen for fertilization.

A Jack-in-the-pulpit can either be male or female, not both as with many plants. A male plant has tiny thread-like yellow to brown anthers at the base of the spadix. Female plants produce a cluster of tiny green berries inside the Jack. In the fall the berries turn red and are great food for birds. One very interesting fact about the Jack is that a plant can change sex from year to year depending on how much food it has stored in the corm (taproot) during a growing period. If the growing season was poor, it will be male the next year. If the plant stored a good deal of food in the taproot, the next year it will be female.

The Jack-in-the-pulpit is in the arum family. The word, "arum", means fire. The Jack gets that name because of needle-like crystals found in the tubers. The tubers have a peppery taste and can cause a burning sensation if eaten raw. This can be eliminated by cooking or drying.  Native American gathered the taproots and ate them as a vegetable but only after cooked or dried- never raw.