Jack in the Pulpit

Well I’m over the tree thing for now. You know I’ll never be over the tree thing. I’ve walked the boreal forests of Haida Gwaii (The Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia, Canada (just below Alaska). There I walked amongst trees that have stood since Captain James Cook sailed the coastline more than 200 years ago. These trees reached heights of more than 50 metres. When my wife and I walked these forests, it was as though we were the first living beings to put our eyes on them or frolic under their girth. I’ll never be over the tree thing.

I worked under the trees today. I try to spend as many hours as possible working in my garden on Sunday. Just now, I am trying to relocate plants that are found in our natural habitat here in the Carolinian Forest of South Western Ontario. When our big tree next to the house had to go last year, I was worried that these plants might perish with all the sudden additional light. Trilliums for example do not like a lot of direct sunlight and other plants like Solomons Seal, May Apple, etc. like to be in forest environment. I’ve been busy moving samples to other areas to see how they will do there. Today was a nice damp and sometimes wet day, ideal for transplanting.
It is hard work but its fun and makes me feel at one with the world and myself. I need that, as it has been a tough weekend on the psychological front.

I thought I’d share these incredible plants with you. I love them, as simple as they are and as unpretentious are its bloom. They grow in sunlight but also shade. These grow along the side of my studio. I started them from seed many years ago, so I have a stake in propagating them. They are “Jack in the Pulpit”. Haven’t we all seen them in our children’s books, with the little Jack smiling inside his Pulpit? They are in full bloom here.
Enjoy!

Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

Jack in the Pulpit is also known as Indian Turnip (Arisaema triphyllum).
Plant Type: a herbaceous plant, perennial, can reach 65cm in height (25inches).
Leaves: plant has basal leaves only. Usually two but sometimes one. Each leaf is divided into three almost equal parts.
Flowers: The flowers are irregular in shape and are up to 8cm long (3 inches). They are green with purple or brown stripes sometimes brownish. Blooms first appear in mid spring and continue into late spring. The spathe (pulpit) is most often green streaked with purplish. The spadix (jack) is covered with tiny male and female flowers.
Fruit: A cluster of bright red shiny berries.
Habitat: Rich moist woods.
Range: New Brunswick south to Florida.

In folklore, there is one account stating that the Meskwaki Indians would put finely chopped root from the Jack in the Pulpit into meat that they would leave for their enemies to find, principally the Sioux. The meat was flavorful and would be consumed, and then in a few hours these enemies would first be in a great deal of pain and then die! It is reported that they also used it diagnostically by dropping a seed in a cup of water and if the seed went around four times clockwise, the patient would recover and if less the patient would die.

A closer detail of the Jack in the Pulpits from my home.

See how simple and subtle is their beauty. The leaves have not yet unfurled but ready themselves on this cool wet May day. I just love the way the light comes through its translucent female flower petal with Jack the Spadex inside her. I can’t say enough about how happy they make me.

Be sure to click the photo for an enlargement.