Green Dragon

September 2010

I recently saw this pod of bright orange-red seeds while hiking near Ferndale. I can’t identify it from any of my books. Can you help?

This is the seed pod of an arum-- either the Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) or Green Dragon (Arisaema dracontium). The plants grow in the cooler months of late winter through spring. When they mature, the females produce a spathe like bloom and set a cluster of seeds. The foliage dies away with hot weather leaving behind the cluster of seeds. As the seeds mature they turn bright orange or red, depending on the species. While these two plants are native, a non-native species is the Italian Arum (Arum italicum) which produces foliage in late fall through spring, leaving behind the naked seed stalk as well.      

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