Usually, when describing flowers, first of all they talk about the degree of their beauty or fragrance. In the case of Arizema, this pattern does not work, because this flower is distinguished not by its beauty or fragrance, but by its singularity. Some compare it with a cobra that was prepared for an attack, others with a Catholic monk who was wearing a hood over his head, and our ancestors saw in the upper part of the flower a resemblance to some kind of cover, for which they called the plant the same mate.
Botanical description
This perennial grass is unusual by the fact that most often it has only one leaf. There are several of them, but never more than four. And the petiole of this usually single leaf blows up to half a meter in height, and under favorable conditions - even for all 70 centimeters.
But even more interesting is the flower, which, in fact, is a mass of flowers collected in the form of a corn cob and covered with an original coverlet. On the one hand, it serves to protect the pestles and pollen from the rain, and on the other hand, by coloring it from the inside, it confuses the insects that have flown in, forcing them to stay inside longer and thereby collecting pollen or pollinating better. 
Did you know? The very popular and popular Calla flowers, it turns out, are related to Arizema, they come from the same family of the Aroids.And the thing is that arizema is dioecious, male and female flowers are located on different plants. Determining who is who is not so difficult. Male plants are smaller than female plants. In addition, if you look under the coverlet, you can see that the male inflorescences look reddish with a lilac shade, and the female ones are pure green. In autumn, red-orange berries appear in the place of these green flowers.
No less interesting are the vertices of the same maculae. They are presented in the form of a round tuber, reaching six centimeters in diameter.
Check out the 12 most unusual colors in the world.
Distribution and ecology
Arizema is represented by 150 species that grow in their natural state all over the planet, with the exception of Europe, South America and Australia. Representatives of this plant with the same success can grow in tropical forests and alpine meadows, and even on limestone rocks. However, some species, mainly those that grow in the Far East, are listed in the local Red Books. This, first of all, concerns arizem Japanese, Sakhalin and three leaflets. 
Being relict plants, one-mate very painfully tolerate changes in the conditions of existence to which a person leads by their actions. In addition, medicinal and decorative properties, for example, three-leaf arizema growing only in Japan, lead to its enhanced collection. The active digging of tubers of the Japanese arizema for medicinal purposes led to the inclusion of this plant in the Red Book of Primorsky Krai and Sakhalin Oblast.
Popular species
The above types of arizema are demanded by man because of its useful qualities.
Amurskaya (Komarova, powerful)
The Amur monolith, which is also called Komarov arizema, grows in woodlands of the Far East. It blooms for two weeks in May, has one or a maximum of two leaves, the stem of which reaches a length of 40 centimeters, the veil over the flowers of this plant is striped: white stripes alternate with pale green. 
Aryzema powerful is very similar to Amur, but it looks more powerful, from which its name came. It grows in the wooded parts of Sakhalin and, thanks to the originally curved striped veil, looks very peculiar.
Did you know? The special scientific journal is dedicated to the family of Aroids in the world of plants, numbering more than three thousand species. There is also the International Aroid Society.
Japanese
A characteristic feature of this plant are the petioles, painted by nature under snake skin. Their length can exceed half a meter, and the light green cover above the flowers contrasts with the brown petioles. This plant is more demanding to heat than the Amur odnokoprovnitsa. 
Three leaf
This is a pure North American plant that lives in the wet forests there. From the title it is clear that she often has three leaves that are held on half-meter petioles. Unlike the Amur and Japanese female relatives, who bloom an average of two weeks, the three leaf leaves bloom for a month in June. It differs from their pale green color schemes and its purple cover over the flowers, decorated with white narrow stripes. 
We advise you to find out how to grow exotic plants on your site: hymenocallis, laconosa, strelitzia, book book.
Snow white
Despite this name, the veil of the plant is not snow-white, but pale green or white, but with green or light purple stripes. This same land in China grows mainly in oak forests at a height of over two kilometers. 
Medicinal properties
Judging by the fact that traditional healers use in their activities mainly arizema tubers, this is where all the plant substances with any healing properties are collected to the maximum.
Unfortunately, the official science has not yet attended to a serious study of the contents of the parts of this plant, therefore, information about their chemical composition is clearly not enough. However, on the basis of what is already known, we can say that arizema has many useful substances for human health.
Saponins, alkaloids and starch are found in its tubers, and the same saponins and alkaloids, as well as phenols, organic acids and steroids are found in the aerial parts.
Substances that are in the juice from the tubers of the plant, from the point of view of traditional medicine, have disinfecting and antirheumatic properties, as well as properties that facilitate the fight against anemia, cramps and boils.
A decoction of rhizomes of arizema has well-pronounced wound-healing, sedative and hypotensive properties.
Important! All parts of arizema are poisonous, therefore it is necessary to handle this plant with great care.
Medical applications
Healers from the people actively use the juice of one-sided in the treatment of various gastric and intestinal problems.
The extract from the same-blooded tubers has a pronounced irritating property, which makes it possible to use it as a distracting tool, like mustard plaster, for colds and infectious diseases. For the same purpose it is used against rheumatic pains in the joints and muscles, as well as against pleurisy.
Healers also use this plant to improve blood clotting and quite successfully - against hemorrhoids and as a diuretic.
In ointments, combating inflammations on the skin, folk healers willingly inject arizemic juice, extracted from tubers, and also use it in pneumonia and bronchitis as an effective expectorant. And coughing is fought with the help of the aerial parts of the grass. 
In India, local healers believe that all parts of the plant are suitable as a blood purifier.
Folk healers of Korea and China decoction and powder from the root of the same mate are successfully used to eliminate the effects of stroke, headaches, dizziness, radiculitis, and also used to treat fractures and bruises. The diabetic and laxative qualities of the herb are also used.
Traditional healers use the root system of Japanese arizema to eliminate seizures and pain. Asian healers use this plant even in the treatment of skin cancer problems.
Use in cooking
Most of the highlanders take food for Arazema, for example, in the Caucasus and in the mountainous regions of China. To do this, use the aboveground part of the same land, which is harvested before it blooms. In India, its seeds are dried and they make flour from them, which is used for baking cakes. Also, the seeds are fried and used as a minced meat for boiled eggs.
Contraindications
Since both the aboveground and underground parts of the grass are poisonous, it should be treated very carefully. Otherwise, a strong inflammatory reaction in the form of blisters may occur on the skin.
Despite its toxicity, in folk medicine for the treatment of diseases use the crow's eye, berry yew, wolfberry, hogweed, common ivy, dodder, grass flax, belladonna.
With the medical use of drugs on the basis of arizema in the first place, as with any other means, people with individual intolerance to the constituent parts of the herb may suffer. Extremely cautious should be and people prone to allergic reactions to various products.
Growing at home
All species of arizema are plants living in the wild. Therefore, when planting it in my garden or as an indoor plant, it should create conditions close to its natural habitat.
Choosing a place
These plants almost always settle in places with heavy rainfall and not hot sun. 
Therefore, in the area for arizema one should choose shaded places where the hot rays of the summer sun would not reach. The plant does not tolerate drought, but overwetting is not useful for it. Therefore, the soil under the grass should choose moisturized, drained and nourishing.
The best neighbors on the site, in the company with which the same mate feels well, are considered to be ferns, lysiquiton, Manchurian saxifrage and symplocarpus.
Landing process
It is possible to plant arisomem both with seeds and vegetatively through the dissection of a tuber or children.
Seeds
Seeds of this herb are recommended for storage in moistened moss and, wrapped in film, left in the refrigerator.
The seeds of Japanese arizema. To sow the seeds is best in August - during the period of their maximum germination in well loosened, drained and moist soil at a distance of 15 centimeters from each other. And the seeds will rise only in the spring. Flowering will begin approximately four years later.
Planting tubers
Vegetative reproduction makes the waiting process when planted arizema blooms, in short. For planting, they use whole tubers, their parts or children, which are separated after the growing season stops, that is, in the fall or spring before the start of the growing season. In the autumn before planting the tubers need a little dry. 
Plant tubers should be at a depth of 15-20 centimeters and at a distance of 15 centimeters from each other.
Watering
This is a moisture-loving plant, so in the dry season it is mandatory to water it regularly. However, an excess of moisture is harmful for odnokopronnitsy. In the rainy season, the soil around the plant should be spud more often, so that water does not accumulate there, which can cause tuber rot.
Harvesting and storage of raw materials
If the seeds are stored, shrouded in moss, in the refrigerator, it is best to dig up the tubers after the end of the growing season and keep in the cellar, where the temperature does not exceed six degrees, in a box with dry peat moss sphagnum. You can store the tubers and in the refrigerator, wrapping them with moist sphagnum and placing in a plastic bag. 
Collecting arizema seeds
Important! Seeds of odnopokonnitsy quickly lose their germination. Therefore, they must either be planted soon after collection, or properly stored in a cool place.
Role in gardening
An unusual type of veil over the inflorescence and bright orange fruits give arizeme a very original look, which in landscape design claims the dominant role. Therefore, it is customary to plant low and creeping plants with a contrasting color in relation to the same mantle.
Often, arizem is planted in groups on the shore of a reservoir or near stone boulders, in the vicinity of which the plants look very advantageous.
This plant is original in everything: in the minimum number of leaves, and in the mass of flowers collected in one place, and in a kind of bedspread that protects flowers from the weather, and in its relic antiquity. Today more and more gardeners take pride of place in their possessions.
Reviews
