''Arum nigrum'', commonly known as black arum, is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plant that can grow up to tall. It has a large underground

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

that stores

nutrients A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

and allows the plant to survive during periods of drought. The leaves of ''Arum nigrum'' are large, arrow-shaped, and glossy green in color, reaching a length of up to . The flowers of this plant are the most distinctive feature, as they are black in color, with a central spadix surrounded by a large petal-like bract called a

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

Habitat and cultivation

''Arum nigrum'' is native to the Balkan Peninsula and North Greece. It can be found in

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern France and around the ...

, rocky hillsides, and soil pockets.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

''Arum nigrum,'' belongs to the family

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

and is one of several species within the genus ''

Arum ''Arum'' is a genus of plants in the Araceae family; they are native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. Frequently called arum lilies, they are not closely ...

''. The genus ''Arum'' has been the subject of various

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

and

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

studies, with some researchers proposing new classifications and keys to the infrageneric

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

. The distribution of ''Arum nigrum'' has also been studied, with some researchers examining its affinities to other ''Arum'' species, such as those found in southern Greece.

Medicinal potential

While there is limited information specifically about the medicinal potential of ''Arum nigrum'', plants belonging to the genus ''Arum'' have been used for nutritional and medicinal purposes for many centuries, despite their

toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect o ...

Habitat and cultivation

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Medicinal potential

References

Further reading