Green arrow arum plants (Peltandra virginica) are now emerging from marsh ponds like batteries of missiles, as you can see from this image taken yesterday:
By mid-June they’ll be a green tangle of lush and graceful arrow-tipped stalks. Here’s an image taken of same colony of plants taken on June 17 of last year:
Leighton Archive Image
The plant is sometimes called tuckahoe, its Algonquin Indian name. Of course, the first word in its arrow arum name reflects its arrowhead leaf shape. The name arum shows that it is part of the arum family of plants. That group name is thought to derive from the Arabic word for fire because many of the family plants have toxic sap that burns those crazy enough to taste them. However, the edible fruits of arrow arum are loved by ducks, muskrats, and other marsh creatures. (Primary image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on May 10, 2022.)