Our last puzzler’s bright red berries come from a long-lived woodland perennial called Jack in the Pulpit, also known as Indian turnip,or Arisaema triphyllum. It is native to the eastern Untied States and is found growing in moist, deciduous woodlands.
According to the US Forest Service, “Jack-in-the pulpit is pollinated by small flies gnats and flowers from March through June depending on locale. The flower is an unusual green and maroon striped spathe surrounding a fleshy, maroon-colored spadix that bears the tiny, embedded flowers. The showy, bright red berries have the consistency of a ripe tomato, and are an attractive food source for birds such as thrushes, rodents, etc. Each berry contains 1 to 5 seeds and ripens in the fall.”
This plant has the rare ability to change its sex based on the area where it grows. It may live for 20 years and can change again and again and again. When it has the right nutrients and moisture and has reached a sufficient size to provide resources to support a flower and fruit, it will be female. When it lacks nutrients, it reverts to a male plant. A jack that makes male flowers has only one main leaf whereas a female has two.
