Lords and Ladies / Arum maculatum
- Amanda Zambon
- Mar 14
- 4 min read
Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum) is a fascinating plant that gets more interesting the more you learn about it.
It’s highly toxic, and ingesting it reportedly feels like swallowing shards of glass because of the oxalate crystals it contains (fun!). So, it’s an important plant to be able to identify even if only to avoid accidentally picking it! While humans are best advised to keep it away from their dinner plate, has had many uses historically and continues to have many benefits for wildlife.
In this Blog I explore :
Lords and Ladies Identification
This plant is native across most of Europe, growing mostly in shady spots in woodlands or hedgerows. It’s part of the Araceae family of lilies, and one of only a few from this family growing in this part of the world, with the majority of its relatives growing in more tropical climates.
Lords and Ladies is a pretty easy plant to identify when you know what it looks like - but it often catches people out by growing amongst wild garlic - when it’s very young and before the leaves have unfurled it can look very similar. This is why I always pick each garlic leaf individually - never in clumps! This is a good rule for foraging in general - see my blog on how to start foraging.
The mature leaves however look nothing like wild garlic. They are spear like and often have dark blotches on them, as per the photo below.
The flowers look very lily-esque, with a purple spike within a sheath as the flower as is typical for the lily family - and producing red berries following pollination (see RHS for more photos)
Another plant you could possibly confuse it with is sorrel (particularly when young) as the leaves are a similar shape, but the spear like bottom of sorrel is much more pointy.
History
The plant’s common names give quite a lot away about what it has been historically associated with. It reportedly has over 100 common names, possibly more than any other native plant - indicating that if nothing else it definitely did not go unnoticed by our predecessors!!
Some of its names refer to its rather unusual appearance, such as “dead man’s fingers” , is no doubt a shout out to the spooky appearance of the purple protruding spike in its flower.
There are lots of sexual connotations too- not only because of the spike but also its hermaphrodite qualities, with names like “naked boys”, “naked girls” and “Adam and Eve”.
I’ve read mixed opinions on where its other common name, “cuckoo’s pint”, originates from - some saying it was thought to appear at the same time that cuckoo birds arrive and another account saying that it Pint comes from the old English word for Penis: Pintle. Cuckoo means: lively. So that translates as lively penis (see here).
The plant has many traditional uses including to treat cancer, constipation, fungal diseases, hemorrhoids, and rheumatism. It is also used for its diaphoretic, sudorific, and expectorant properties. A 2023 study also showed that it had notable wound healing properties (click here)
During the Elizabethan era the roots were dug up and used to make starch to press those elaborate collars! Apparently it used to really hurt there hands of the laundresses.
I love the idea that one of the more iconic historical fashion styles was dependent on this common place wild plant that is now largely forgotten. I also love the fact that these plants were so integrated in daily life that their uses went beyond ingestion - something we forget when we think about foraging.
Toxicity
The main thing to note when foraging is to avoid it!! I always say that knowing the poisonous plants is as important (if not more so!) than the edible ones!
Every part of Arum maculatum is poisonous, with the berries posing the greatest danger. Their bright red color makes them particularly appealing to children. Consuming just a few of these berries can lead to severe poisoning.
The main element of toxicity is the needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals that cause intense irritation upon contact with mucous membranes or skin. When ingested, these crystals embed in the tissues, leading to pain, swelling, and a burning sensation in the mouth and throat.
I have heard of foragers going to great lengths to render the plant edible - which involves a lot of convoluted reheating and processing. But why would you bother when there are so many great edibles available without the faff?
Biodiversity
Although all parts of the plant are toxic to humans, the berries are for some reason edible for birds.
The plant also is polinated by owl midges - it’s only known politator in the UK- through a mindblowingly intelligent process. The flower of the plant warms to 20 degrees warmer than its surroundings and emits a foul stench so the midges are tricked into thinking it’s a rotting carcus. It amazes me that plants are intelligent enough to be able to mimick something - surely this denotes some sort of consciousness?!
Anyway, once in the flower they get trapped inside its rather elaborate inner chambers for 18-24 hours where they deposit pollen collected from other plants and also pick up pollen from that plant. David Attenborough explains the process beautiful on his recent “Wild Isles” programme. A shorter clip can be seen below
Concluding thoughts
This is one of the most common native plants I see when out and about about. While initially I was instilled with a fear of accidentally ingesting it while foraging something else, the more I’ve learnt about it the more I really appreciate its genius. Mimicking a dead carcus to avoid pollinators is so impressive - and definitely a fun fact to tell people when out and about!
Sources and resources
Rosamond Richardson, Britain's Wildflowers
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