Araceae
Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).
This is one of our oddest-looking spring flowers, a relative of the
tropical Anthurium and the Calla so popular with funeral directors.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit blooms in open woodlands in April and May. The leafy
enclosure that forms the “pulpit” is called the “spathe,” and this is the
most ornamental and variable part of the inflorescence. Later on, the
spathe will disappear, and bright red berries will develop along the
spadix.
Arisaema darcontium
Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).
The natural habitat of skunk cabbage is muck: it lives in brackish swamps
in the woods, often in areas of mush near a flowing stream. This is one of
our rare winter-blooming plants. These bizarre flowers come out beginning
in February, before the leaves do.
Acorus calamus