A Lagniappe ("a lil' somethin' extra" in Cajun): An arisaema, or Jack-in-the-Pulpit from Shenandoah National Park on 5/8/10. This plant, related to arums (see my lagniappe on Arum italica) has an interesting trait- it can change sexes from Jack to Jill! It begins life as a male, a Jack, then, after it gathers strength over a few seasons and stores it in the root system, it changes sex, to a Jill, so it can reproduce and produce a spike of seeds. After that heroic effort, it is back to Jack.
Happy wildflowering?
1 comment:
Well...do tell!
(I think that's the southern expression of amazement.)
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