Arisarum vulgare
Common name
friar’s cowl
Family
Araceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
Conservation status
Not applicable
Distribution
A few widely scattered collections from NZ. First collected as a garden escape in Auckland in 2004, although there are much earlier (1950s) herbarium specimens of it in the Auckland Museum herbarium, which may be wild gatherings though the label information is unclear.
Habitat
Urban weed, spreading in and near gardens.
Flowering
April - August
Flower colours
Green, Violet/Purple
Fruiting
July - January
Life cycle
Seed; tubers; colony expansion
Propagation technique
Vegetative extension of established plants, but seeds freely at times (see photos attached here); probably also spreads from dumped tubers in garden waste.
Year naturalised
2004 (but see note above)
Origin
Mediterranean
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Etymology
arisarum: Possible from the Greek arista ‘bristle’ or ‘awn’ and arum, to which the genus is allied, referring to spathe of flower having a spike.