Unfurl your cloak of silken white
Reveal your secret wand upraised at length
And not unlike a star you shine serene
To exalt the autumn-tide with silver cups
- Unknown
W&N watercolour on DalerRowney 300gsm
My Arums (Zantedeschia aethiopica) are in full flower in my garden after all the gorgeous rain we've had. It's also cooled down the heat wave we've been seeming to have so early in the summer and it's actually been a pleasure to spend some time in the garden this week.
These are the White or common Arum Lily (English); Wit varkoor (Afrikaans). The striking arum lily “flower” is actually many tiny flowers arranged in a complex spiral pattern on the central column (spadix). The tiny flowers are arranged in male and female zones on the spadix. The top 7 cm are male flowers and the lower 1.8cm are female. If you look through a hand-lens you may see the stringy pollen emerging from the male flowers which consist largely of anthers. The female flowers have an ovary with a short stalk above it, which is the style (where the pollen is received).
These plants are native to Southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi.
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