The jack-in-the-pulpit can be found across the Chesapeake Bay watershed, growing in the moist and shaded soils of forests, woodlands, bogs and swamps. (capn madd matt/Flickr)
Also known as bog onion or Indian turnip, the jack-in-the-pulpit is a perennial plant in the Arum family, which includes relatives like skunk cabbage and arrow arum. Its hooded flower blooms in the spring and gives the plant its common name.
Appearance:
Grows one to three feet tall
Features one to two large glossy leaves, each divided into three leaflets
Large hooded and striped flower blooms in spring on separate stalk at height of leaves
Flower appears in shades of green, greenish-white and purple, and features a pouch-shaped spathe ("pulpit") and fingerlike central spadix ("jack"), which give the plant its common name
Flower produces a mace-like cluster of red or scarlet berries in the fall
Habitat:
Thrives in moist, shady and seasonally wet locations
Found in forests, woodlands, bogs and swamps
Range:
Found across the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Native to Canada and the eastern and midwestern United States
Predators:
Birds and mammals feed on berries
Reproduction and Life Cycle:
Underground corm, or swollen section of stem, functions as food reservoir from which plant emerges in spring
Plant emits a fungal smell that attracts insects to the flower. The flower's pouch-shaped spathe keeps insects confined and ensures pollination occurs
Flower produced a mace-like cluster of red or scarlet berries in fall before dying back in winter
Home growers can propagate plant by root division or seed
Other Facts:
Berries, foliage and roots poisonous to humans, although roots can be eaten if cooked or dried for at least six months
