''Arum sintenisii'', known as Sintenis arum, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in 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 ...

Description

''Arum sintenisii'' is a tuberous herbs that spreads clonally through discoid horizontally-oriented tubers.

Flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are borne on a spadix, partially enclosed in a green

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 ...

with a purple internal lining. Germination is

epigeal Epigeal, epigean, epigeic and epigeous are biological terms describing an organism's activity above the soil surface. In botany, a seed is described as showing epigeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed expand, throw off the ...

Habitat

It grows in uncultivated ''

Olea europaea The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of subtropical evergreen tree in the family Oleaceae. Originating in Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean Basin, with wild subspecies in Africa ...

'' groves at altitudes of 50 to 200 meters near

Kythrea Kythrea ( or ; ) is a small town in Cyprus, 10 km northeast of Nicosia. Kythrea is under the '' de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. History Kythrea is situated near the ancient Greek city-kingdom of Chytroi, which was founded by Chy ...

in northern

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. It was recently reported from southwestern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Taxonomy

Within the genus ''Arum'', it belongs to subgenus ''Arum'', section ''Dioscoridea'', and subsection ''Hygrophila''. It was previously thought to be a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''

Arum orientale ''Arum orientale'' is a woodland plant species of the family Araceae. It is found in southeastern Europe as far west as Vienna and in Turkey. Its primary range is Romania, Bulgaria, and southern Ukraine. Description The plain green leaves of '' ...

'' in subsection ''Dischroochiton'', but recent studies support a closer relationship with '' Arum hygrophilum''. ''A. sintenisii'' differs from ''A. orientale'' in the smell (sweet in ''A. sintenisii'', foetid in ''A. orientale'') and presentation of the

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

(produced at leaf level in ''A. sintenisii'', below leaves in ''A. orientale''), and the two were recognized as distinct in 1995. ''A. sintenisii'' also differs in its larger size. ''A. sintenisii'' has also been confused with ''A. hygrophilum''; many records of ''A. hygrophilum'' from Cyprus are likely misidentifications of this species. ''A. sintenisii'' is

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

, with a

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

count of 2n = 28.

Uses

Cultivated

''Arum sintenisii'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

, and is reported to survive mild winters in South East England.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15326562 Cormous plants Garden plants of Europe Flora of Europe Flora of Turkey Flora of Cyprus sintenisii Taxa named by Adolf Engler Plants described in 1920