Field Guide
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Lords-and-ladies
Arum maculatum
Not yet photographed by the community
Curious hood-shaped spathe; toxic red berries in autumn.
Species Profile
Not listed as threatened; common and stable in its range.
- Lifespan
- Perennial, with individual plants persisting for many years through underground tubers
- Size & Weight
- 20–40 cm tall; spadix (flower spike) 8–15 cm; berries 8–10 mm diameter
- Habitat
- Woodland floors, hedgerows, and shaded areas with moist, nutrient-rich soil across England and Wales.
- UK Distribution
- Common throughout southern England and Wales, becoming scarcer northwards; absent from most of Scotland and northern England. Resident year-round.
- Diet
- Not applicable—a flowering plant that produces its own food via photosynthesis.
- Predators
- Seeds and tubers eaten by rodents, slugs, and some birds; foliage browsed by deer and rabbits.
- Mating Season
- Flowers April to May; berries ripen August to October.
- Breeding
- Monoecious (male and female flowers on same spadix). Produces clusters of bright red berries containing 1–6 seeds; dispersed by birds.
- Behaviour
- The distinctive purple-spotted leaves emerge in spring; the plant is thermogenic, generating heat to volatilise attractants that lure pollinating flies. All parts contain calcium oxalate crystals, causing intense burning if ingested—hence the common name 'Cuckoo pint' and warnings against touching.
- •The plant generates its own heat (up to 35°C above ambient temperature), which helps disperse volatile attractants to trap flies for pollination
- •The spadix is divided into three zones: female flowers at the base, sterile male flowers in the middle, and fertile male flowers at the top, with a collar of sterile bristles to trap visiting flies
- •All parts of the plant are highly toxic due to calcium oxalate crystals; historically used as a starch source only after lengthy processing to remove toxins
- •The bright red autumn berries are highly attractive to birds but poisonous to humans; birds can eat them safely as they are resistant to the toxins
- •Also called 'Cuckoo pint', 'Parson-in-the-pulpit', and 'Wake-robin'—names referring to the distinctive spadix's resemblance to a preacher in a pulpit
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