Arisarum vulgare
Common names
friar’s cowl
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
Flower colours
Green, Violet/Purple
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.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
April - August
Fruiting
July - January
Year naturalised
2004 (but see note above)
Origin
Mediterranean
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Life cycle and dispersal
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.
Other information
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.