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Jack-in-the-Pulpit

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Jack-in-the-Pulpit picture. As the photo shows, Jack-in-the-Pulpit's hood that is the plant's prize.

Picture of jack-in-the-pulpit plant in the wild.

David Beaulieu
More Images (3)

Plant Taxonomy of Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

Plant taxonomy classifies jack-in-the-pulpit as Arisaema triphyllum. Other common names include "Indian turnip" and "wake robin."

Plant Type for Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

Jack-in-the-pulpit is an herbaceous perennial that grows from a corm.

Characteristics of Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

Although jack-in-the-pulpit flowers in spring, it's primarily the spathe, a hooded, cup-like growth, that folks care about. This is the "pulpit" from which "Jack" (technically, the "spadix") preaches. The actual flowers are contained on the spadix, but they aren't showy; it's the spathe that you notice from a distance, especially when it is striped and/or tinged with purple. Three sub-species exist, and there can be quite a bit of variation in coloration. The top of the spathe is a lip that curls over the spadix, as if forming a roof. Jack-in-the-pulpit reaches a height of 1-2 feet with a similar spread.

Planting Zones for Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

Indigenous to eastern North America, jack-in-the-pulpit can be grown in zones 4-9.

Sun and Soil Requirements for Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

Grow jack-in-the-pulpit in partial shade to full shade and make sure it is adequately watered and fertilized. The idea is to mimic its native habitat, which is damp, acidic areas of the forest rich in humus. Fertilize with compost -- or with a fertilizer containing ammonium-N if your soil pH isn't acidic enough.

Look-Alikes:

The tripartite compound leaf of jack-in-the-pulpit may remind some of poison ivy ("leaves of three, let it be") at certain stages of the latter's growth. The leaf structure also resembles trillium's, which shares jack-in-the-pulpit's native habitat, as well as the nickname, "wake robin."

For more help in identifying jack-in-the-pulpit, click "More Images" under the picture to open the mini-photo gallery, where you'll find pictures of the spathe and berries.

Caveats in Growing Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

Jack-in-the-pulpits are poisonous plants, the corms (if ingested raw) being considered especially toxic. Native Americans cooked the corms after soaking and drying them, as preparation for both medicinal and culinary uses (thus the common name, "Indian turnip"; but only experts should try this). Source: Doug Ladd's wildflower book, North Woods Wildflowers.

Uses:

Plant jack-in-the-pulpit in shade gardens and/or woodland gardens.

In terms of design, I agree with Lorraine Johnson, who says of jack-in-the-pulpits in her native plants book that she prefers using them as accents, "a few here and there," rising out of a mass of surrounding low-growing groundcovers.

If you are concerned that dormant jack-in-the-pulpits will leave a hole in your shade garden in mid-summer, plant impatiens to fill in around them.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit Reproduction: What's Going on Under the Hood?:

The Missouri Botanical Garden Web site explains that jack-in-the-pulpits bear only male flowers, at first; but that those destined to bloom "become hermaphroditic as they further age (male flowers on upper part of spadix and female on lower part)." Most jack-in-the-pulpits, this Web site goes on to say, enter upon a dormant period by mid-summer, "but the mature, hermaphroditic flowering plant will produce a cluster of red berries in mid to late summer which becomes visible as the spathe withers." Jack-in-the-pulpit berries shine brightly and will add considerable luster to your shade garden late in the growing season.

Relatives of Jack-in-the-Pulpit:

It is worth mentioning here some of the close relatives of jack-in-the-pulpit (i.e., other types of Arisaema), as well as some cousins.

Some of the other types of Arisaema plants follow (source: Bulb, Anna Pavord):

  • Arisaema consanguineum
  • Arisaema saxatile
  • Arisaema griffithii

The spathe of Arisaema consanguineum (zones 7-9) is purplish with light green stripes, terminating in a long "tongue" that makes it look ever so much like a cobra's head. Also with a long tongue is Arisaema saxatile (zones 6-9), but in this case the tongue is the spadix; the spathe is white. The purplish spathe of Arisaema griffithii (zones 7-9) is decorated with an elaborate light green veining pattern at the top.

Arisaema plants are in the Arum family. Other members include its neighbor in the woodlands of eastern North America, skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), which is also characterized by a hooded structure that covers its flowers. Europe is home to a plant similar to Arisaema triphyllum, called Arum maculatum; the plant even shares with Arisaema triphyllum the common names, "jack-in-the-pulpit" and "wake robin."

Jack-in-the-Pulpit: Fairyland Plant

Whether you grow jack-in-the-pulpit or one of the other types of Arisaema, you'll be treated to one of the more unusual plants you can grow in the shade garden. This is a plant that fascinates children and the young at heart, a plant not difficult to picture in a fairyland setting.

Frankly, I feel the namers of jack-in-the-pulpit failed to capture this magical quality. I see the lower part of the spathe as a drinking vessel abandoned by the elves, and the spadix as a pixie. The pixie, pursued by rivals, has discovered the abandoned vessel and hopped into it, pulling a leaf over the top for cover.

What can I say? Arisaema triphyllum is intriguing enough to bring the imagination out of anyone!

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