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Amaryllis
Arum
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Arum Family (monocot) -- Araceae

Family Characteristics

Characteristic	Description
Flowers	The flowers in this family are attached to the spadix [see Fig. 1 (large )]. They are very small and typically not observed easily with the naked eye. The spadix and spathe [see Fig. 2 (large )] are the structures that are observed most easily, and are the structures most likely to be captured in the work of botanical artists and nature lovers. Some flowers have tepals and some do not.
Stamens	Reduced, few to many and not necessarily present in a number divisible by 3 (as you’d expect from a monocot) according to Brown (2000).
Style/Stigma	Reduced
Ovary	Superior
Fruit	Berry
Leaves	Shapes and venation patterns vary, usually basal [see Fig. 3 (large )] (originating from the base of the plant)
Roots	On tubers [see Fig. 4 (large )] and rhizomes, can be underground or above ground

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arum images

What’s Going On? (Details of interest to the botanical artist)

Calla inflorescence and stem [see Fig. 5 (large )]

Landscape & Cut Flower Equivalents

Anthurium spp. [see Fig. 6 (large )]
Caladium spp. [see Fig. 7 (large )]
Philodendron spp.
Zantedeschia spp. (Calla Lily) [see Fig. 8 (large )]

Selected Resources for this Family

Brown, Deni. 2000. Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Second edition. Timber Press, Inc. ISBN: 0-88192-485-7.

A great reference all about aroids. Brown covers all aspects of aroid biology and organizes species of aroids according to where they live. She dedicates one entire chapter to edible aroids and one chapter to aroids grown in cultivation.

California State University Fullerton http://www.fullerton.edu

CSUF Biology Home Page (http://biology.fullerton.edu), click on Biology Greenhouse Complex, under the left Welcome! column at the bottom. This link will take you to pages describing the two separate blooming events of Amorphophallus titanum.

Glimn-Lacy, Janice and Peter B. Kaufman. 1984. Botany Illustrated. International Thomson Publishing. ISBN:0-412-07871-6

Artists can learn about fly-pollinated flowers by coloring the labeled illustration of a Skunk Cabbage inflorescence (p. 34); a description of the Araceae family with labeled illustrations to color (p. 127).

Hickey, Michael and Clive King. 2002. The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-79401-3

Illustrations of an inflorescence of Arum maculatum (p. 124); developing berries of Arum maculatum (p. 124).

Hogan, Sean. 2003. Flora: The Gardener's Bible. Global Book Publishing. ISBN: 1-74048-097-X

Descriptions and color photographs of several genera in this family, all are arranged in alphabetical order.

Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA. http://www.huntington.org

The blooming of Amorphophallus titanum at The Huntington is highlighted on the pages found at http://www.huntington.org/BotanicalDiv/Titan2002/Titan2002.html

International Aroid Society, Inc. http://www.aroid.org

Gain an appreciation of the diversity within this family by visiting this informative website.

L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University. 1976. Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Reprinted in 2000 by Barnes & Noble, Inc. ISBN: 0-7607-2116-5

Description of the Araceae and detailed illustrations of five species in this family (p. 96); descriptions of several genera and species (arranged in alphabetical order).

Phillips, Roger & Martyn Rix. 2002. The Botanical Garden (Vol. I): Perennials and Annuals. Firefly Books. ISBN: 1-55297-592-4

Descriptions and informative color photographs of seven genera in the Araceae (pp. 394-401); artists may like to compare the illustrations of an Arum maculatum inflorescence (in Hickey & King, pg. p. 124) to a color photograph of this same inflorescence in Phillips & Rix (p. 394).

Zomlefer, Wendy B. 1994. Guide to Flowering Plant Families. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 0-8078-4470-5

Detailed description of the Araceae and illustrations of three species in this family (pp. 301-303).