Blog: I love this odd, creepy, poisonous plant – perfect for Halloween!
If ever there was a Marmite plant in gardening, Arum italicum Marmoratum (or the Italian arum) must be it – you either love or hate it.
Fortunately, it’s one of my favourites, not least due to its back-to-front season. It’s an ideal ground cover plant for shady, out-of-the-way areas, growing to just 35cm. It dies back completely in summer, before its showy spikes of red-orange berries pop up from the bare soil in early autumn.
When other plants are losing their leaves in late autumn, this arum’s fresh foliage emerges with a flourish. And what foliage! The large, arrow-shaped, dark, glossy green leaves are highlighted with creamy-white veins, which provide a focal point all winter.
Truly weird cobra-like flowers on Arum italicum marmoratum
Finally, in late spring, pale green-yellow spathes (think ghostly hooded cobras) with a yellow spadix (a spike of tiny flowers) appear. Then the leaves die back for the summer, and the show is over until September.
Mine are planted at the base of the beech hedge, so they show up against its brown winter leaves beautifully. They do self-seed but are not uncontrollable in my garden. The fruit is eaten by birds, so seeds are spread in their droppings. These tuberous perennials have also been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit. I don’t find any problem with it spreading out of hand, but my soil is relatively dry.
Now the bad things…
There are the good things – now for the bad! All parts of the plant are highly poisonous, whether eaten, and they are skin and eye irritants, so wear gloves when handling Arum italicum marmoratum. They’re toxic to pets and horses, too, but I have to say my cat avoids it.
In perfect conditions, like our native lords-and-ladies (Arum maculatum), it can run amok and be very difficult to control. Both self-seeding and rhizome fragments in compost can spread the deep-rooting tubers around. Even the tiniest bits quickly multiply.
Arum italicum marmoratum: watch out for self-seeding
Limit the spread by digging up excess plants meticulously and keep at it. Don’t add waste to your compost bin. Use deep mulches to cut off the light. If in a bed, try a 15cm layer of bark. If you’re looking for it on nursery sites, it’s also known as:
- A. italicum Pictum
- A. italicum subsp. italicum Marmoratum
- A. marmoratum
- Lords-and-ladies: A. maculatum is a related UK native with plain green leaves. Also known as devils and angels, Adam and Eve, cuckoo pint, snake’s head.
For more on our native variety, the RHS has an interesting post.
