Our annual reunion of preachers named Jack has occurred later this year and with fewer attendees. We’re talking, of course, about the arrival of our Jack-in-the-pulpit plants (Arisaema triphyllum) that love dark boggy areas in the woods. Perhaps their sparse attendance is because our woods are in a moderate drought now.
We seem to have a significant number of the plants’ three-part (trifoliate) church leaves, but without their underlying striped pulpits (spathes) in which the Jacks (flower spikes/spadices) appear. I’ve been unable to find the reason why the name “Jack” was chosen for the preachers. (Perhaps it was inspired by the historic Jack-in-the-box toy.)
These native plants are lovely, graceful things, but dangerous: their leaves are significant irritants to humans and can be toxic to horses, dogs, and cats. Nonetheless, Native Americans used the plants’ roots to treat rheumatism and snake bites. (Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on June 22, 2022.)