Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Did you know

• The 'Jack' is the slender club-shaped spadix standing in the center, and the 'pulpit' is the curved striped hood (spathe) that arches over and protects him.
• Jack-in-the-pulpit can change sex from year to year — small plants are male, larger plants become female, and stressed females revert back to male.
• The plant lures fungus gnats by smelling like decaying mushrooms, traps them inside the pulpit, and uses them as accidental pollinators.
• Female plants produce a stunning cluster of bright red berries in late summer, lasting long after the leaves wither.
• All parts of the plant contain calcium oxalate crystals that cause severe burning if eaten raw, but Indigenous peoples cooked and dried the corms (called 'Indian turnip') to neutralize them.

Color meanings

Uses

• Woodland gardens
• Native plant gardens
• Shade borders
• Naturalizing