Definition

Noun: 1. A North American woodland plant (Arisaema triphyllum) of the arum family, characterized by a distinctive flower structure consisting of a hood-like spathe (the "pulpit") that arches over a central, club-shaped spadix (the "jack"). 2. A common European arum (Arum maculatum) with similar structural features.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • We found a beautiful jack-in-the-pulpit growing near the creek.
  • The jack-in-the-pulpit is easily identified by its striped spathe and cluster of red berries in the fall.

Advanced Usage

• The term is used literally to refer to the specific plant species. Its unique common name is a direct metaphor for its physical appearance, likening the flower structure to a preacher (jack) in a raised enclosed platform (pulpit).

Variants and Related Words

• Arum: The family (Araceae) to which the jack-in-the-pulpit belongs.
• Spathe: The large, often colorful bract or leaf that surrounds the flower cluster.
• Spadix: The fleshy, spike-shaped stem bearing the plant's tiny flowers.

Synonyms

• Indian turnip (a common name for , referring to its edible corm when properly cooked).
• Wake-robin (a name shared with trillium, sometimes used for ).
• Lords-and-ladies (a common name for the European ).

Noun

1. common European arum with lanceolate spathe and short purple spadix; emerges in early spring; source of a starch called arum
2. common American spring-flowering woodland herb having sheathing leaves and an upright club-shaped spadix with overarching green and purple spathe producing scarlet berries