Green Arrow Arum

Peltandra virginica

The Green Arrow Arum is a cool plant that grows in wet places like swamps. It has big green leaves and a unique flower that looks like a green arrow!

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Green Arrow Arum has striking, large, dark green leaves shaped like an arrowhead, rising from shallow water. Its unique flower features a slender, greenish-yellow finger-like spadix, partially enclosed by a boat-shaped, pale green spathe.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassLiliopsidaOrderAlismatalesFamilyAraceaeGenusPeltandra

Green Arrow Arum

Interesting facts

Even after its leaves die back, its roots keep growing under the water!

Its flower smells a bit like rotting meat to attract hungry flies!

Its fruit ripens into a cluster of bright green, buoyant berries!

The unique arrowhead leaves can grow up to two feet long!

Special abilities

Green Arrow Arum has tiny, sharp crystals in its cells that make it taste bad, helping it defend against hungry animals.

Green Arrow Arum can release its seeds which float like little rafts, allowing them to travel and sprout in new wet spots.

Green Arrow Arum has special roots that can live completely submerged in water year-round, even through winter.

The Green Arrow Arum's flower can generate its own heat to attract tiny insects, making it easier to get pollinated!

Measurements & details

Height: 30-100 cm
Spread: 30-60 cm
Flower Size: 15-25 cm
Bloom Season: Late spring to mid-summer
Edible: No
Toxicity: High
Lifecycle: Perennial
Pollination Method: Insect

Ecological connections

eats

Mallard Duck

Anas platyrhynchos

its nutritious green seeds

eats

Muskrat

Ondatra zibethicus

its starchy rhizomes in winter

shelters

Green Frog

Lithobates clamitans

among its large, shady leaves

pollinates

Common Drone Fly

Eristalis tenax

attracted by its unique flower scent

Traits

Ornamental

Ornamental plants are cultivated primarily for their aesthetic appeal, enhancing landscapes and gardens with their attractive foliage, flowers, or form.

Shade Tolerant

Shade tolerant plants are adapted to grow and thrive in areas with low light levels, requiring less direct sunlight.

Broadleaf Tree

Broadleaf trees are angiosperms characterized by flat, wide leaves that are typically shed annually in temperate climates.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.