Arum
Parts Usually Used
Rootstock
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Arum is a perennial plant; its tuberous rootstock is poison when fresh but edible when dried or sufficiently cooked. It is about the size of a walnut and is brown outside, white inside. Arum’s arrowhead-shaped leaves are also poisonous when eaten. Its flowers, which bloom in May and June, trap insects which the plant digests for food. Other varieties: Wake robin or Jack in the pulpit (A.
triphyllum); Dragon or Green arum (A. dracontium)
Where Found
It grows in moist, shady places, along hedges, among bushes, and in deciduous forests.
Medicinal Properties
Acrid when fresh, diaphoretic, expectorant
Uses
Historically, herbalists prepared the dried root of arum for both internal and external applications. Internally, the root was mixed with honey or syrup, or powdered alongside sweet flag, and recommended in traditional medicine for complaints such as bronchitis, asthma, chronic catarrh, flatulence, and rheumatic ailments, as well as being used as a stomachic. Externally, practitioners formulated ointments or prepared plasters by simmering the root with cumin in wine or oil, which were applied to sores and swellings.
Warning
The whole plant of arum is poisonous. Only the root, dried and/or sufficiently cooked, should be used. Recommended use of arum only under medical supervision.
Bibliography
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023