ESSEX   BOTANY   AND   MYCOLOGY  GROUPS 

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Arum italicum Mill        ssp. neglectum F.Towns                               Italian lords-and-ladies

                                                           ssp. italicum

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 Essex Status: Introduced/garden throwouts:

Although native along the south coast and in south-west England, ssp. italicum and the cultivated ssp. neglectum are introductions in Essex. As most botanists in Essex have not separated the two subspecies, it would be premature to list our records. Since A. maculatum can sometimes have a yellow spadix, it is necessary to note whether it extends to only 1/3 of the way up the expanded part of the spathe, or up to 1/2 way as in A. maculatum, and whether the leaves have a paler midrib and a longer fruit spike (10-15cm) or the concolorous  midrib and short fruit spike (3-5cm) of A. maculatum. The two italicum subspecies are separated by the divergent (i) or convergent (n) basal lobes of the leaves, white (i) or just slightly paler (n) veins to the leaves and 2-4 (i) as opposed to only 1-2 (n) seeds per fruit.