Description
A 40-60cm tall form of this variable species from mountains around the Black Sea coast of Northern Turkey; a cold, wet region, thus this is both a very hardy, and a water-tolerant plant in the garden.
The dark green, compact foliage appears in late spring and is borne with the ‘flowers’ in May. In these the spathe is compact, scentless and pinched into a waist. The colour is very pale green, stained purple at the edges, top and base, with an interior of pale cream or white, varyingly marked with rich purple towards the tip.
A rare plant but happy in most garden soils, ideally in half shade.
July 2016: Arum euxinum of horticulture (offered by ourselves and others) was recently said to be not true to name and it was suggested that in was instead a remarkable form of Arum hygrophilum. It is most certainly remarkable and this excellent plant has been lavished with superlatives on the internet. It has apparently been hardy in Norway, in the equivalent of USDA zone 7. A superb hardy garden plant but with doubts cast as to its naming, a lively discussion followed, several names suggested and a (wrong) name was arrived at by consensus. It has now been looked at yet again and freshly (July 2016) diagnosed by Dr. Peter Boyce as actually being Arum euxinum after all. The tuber shape and structure is totally wrong for A. hygrophilum (which was one internet-suggested alternative) and it seems A. euxinum is simply far more variable than had previously been supposed, based on a relatively small sample size. Feel free to argue with yourselves, the keyboard warriors and the experts, not with us, we are sticking with Dr. Boyce and keeping the name for this particular stock as A. euxinum, you can of course call it what you wish! The plants originated from seed distributed by Gothenburg Botanic gardens, as A. euxinum.
