It is not the only native aquatic aroid. The water arum (Calla palustris) is found in northern locations; golden club (Orontium aquaticum) is more widespread. Two skunk cabbages – Lysichiton americanum in the West and Symplocarpus foetidus in the East – grow in marshy, boggy places.
For spots with very moist soil or shallow standing water, Mr Avent said, consider the bold, tropical-looking leaves of the green arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), a native that he thinks is underused by gardeners.
TUBEROUS TYPES (STASH SOME IN YOUR SOCK DRAWER)
For those interested in venturing beyond the herbaceous aroids of the windowsill, the next logical step, Mr Avent suggested, is trying some tuberous types: the Arisaema, callas, caladiums and elephant ears, as well as the less familiar voodoo lilies.
Voodoo lilies include characters like Sauromatum venosum and Amorphophallus konjac, hardy to at least Zone 6a, and the 5b-hardy dragon arum (Dracunculus vulgaris). Both can add unexpected tropical texture to a temperate shade garden, or can be shown off in pots.
Years ago, I took it as a dare when Mr Avent told me that voodoo lilies were so accommodating I could overwinter the dormant bulblike pieces in my sock drawer if they weren’t hardy this far north. (I use the cellar instead.)
Of course, I was an easy mark, having spent years staring at an engraving of the imposing, dark purple Dracunculus hanging opposite my work table. From “The Temple of Flora” series by various artists, it was published by Robert John Thornton in a homage to the father of taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, in 1801. But records from the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and the ancient Greeks reveal that aroids have intrigued the human race for far longer than that.
And not just because of their flower heads. The other parts of an aroid can be pretty swell, also – which is no surprise, when you consider that aroid houseplants often captivate us with their leaves alone.
A couple of favorite features: Sauromatum’s leaflets, strung together in a horseshoe-shaped display like so many green pennants, held aloft by eye-catching freckled leaf stalks. And the even more textural leaves of Amorphophallus konjac, sitting on green-spotted pink stalks.
YOU SEXY BEASTS
If their looks are not peculiar enough to tempt you, aroids are also some sexy beasts. The wildest: In an almost animallike manner, the spadix of certain species, including Eastern skunk cabbage, are capable of producing heat. The process of thermogenesis helps the plant to melt snow, pushing through its extra-early bloom.
“It’s as if they say, ‘We’re ready to attract insects to pollinate us, so turn on the stove,’” Mr. Avent said.
The heat may also help volatilize fragrance molecules. In the eight-foot or taller titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) from Sumatra, Indonesia, that means perfuming the air for one day with the seductive scent of roadkill. What better way to invite a fly or beetle over for an intimate encounter?
That giant plant, endangered in the wild, has lured visitors to botanical garden conservatories, where it is grown not just for show but as part of an ex situ, or off-site, conservation effort. The nonprofit Juniper Level Botanic Garden that Mr Avent founded on 28 acres surrounding Plant Delights – housing 28,000 taxa, including 2,099 aroids – is part of the effort. And the nursery has propagated and sold some 1,000 young titan arum, presumably to those with high ceilings, if not a proper conservatory. (How to grow this plant.)
In certain aroids, a ramp extends a pollinator welcome. A long tail may extend from the tip of the spathe or spadix, “a guide into the flower that they land on, then crawl along into where the food is,” Mr Avent said.