Description
It is known by an abundance of common names including snakeshead, adder’s root, arum, wild arum, arum lily, lords-and-ladies, devils and angels, cows and bulls, cuckoo-pint, Adam and Eve, bobbins, naked girls, naked boys, starch-root, wake robin, friar’s cowl, sonsie-give-us-your-hand, jack in the pulpit and cheese and toast. The name “lords-and-ladies” and other gender-related names refer to the plant’s likeness to male and female genitalia symbolising copulation. It is found growing in woodlands and hedgerows. Its flowers are poker-shaped surrounded by a green leaf-like hood but it is the bright red and orange berries of this plant that are poisonous.
Plant in moist but well-drained and about 10 to 15cm (4-6 inches) deep in light shade.
