Cuckoopint / Lords-and-Ladies - Arum maculatum Cuckoopint, or Lords-and-Ladies, is a familiar and common springtime plant that prefers shaded and reasonably damp growing conditions. It is also one of our more toxic wild plants - almost in the same league of deadliness as hemlock and bryony
Hi Pam Torrential rain here must be the same with you ? The leaves appear in the spring and as they die down early summer , it leaves the spike with the berries on , they can stay on for weeks , unless the blackbirds decide to eat them.
As to its toxicity, much exaggerated in human terms, but not good for dogs. The berries are poisonous, but no-one is going to eat more than one, it is said to be like chewing a mouthful of needles. The sap can cause a rash. However, properly prepared the roots are edible. Has the most common names of all native plants, most referring to its phallic resemblance.
Willy lily or lords and ladies. The leaves and flowers come in the springtime, but can easily be overlooked, whereas the red berries are attention-grabbing.
The roots were a source of starch used to stiffen the neck braces they all had to wear in Elizabethan times, must have been hell of a lot of whiplash claims back then.
