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Arum palaestinum
Also called Black Calla, Palestine Arum, Black Arum
Arum palaestinum is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Arum and the family Araceae. It is also known as black calla, Solomon's lily, priest's hood, noo'ah loof and kardi.
Native to the Mediterranean Basin, it is employed in the Middle East for culinary and medicinal purposes.
The species is toxic at low doses, and this has traditionally been considered to be due to oxalate salts, but this is not certain. The leaves of the plant contain calcium oxalate and other toxins that can be removed by leaching.
The symptoms caused by exposure to the raw plant include mucous membrane irritation, and burning, and consuming larger doses causes nausea, diarrhea, and cramping. Because exposure to skin can cause irritation it is often handled lightly, or with gloves. Eating even a tiny amount raw will cause numbness in the tongue and mouth.
Arum palaestinum is native to the Levant and other parts of the Mediterranean Basin. It has been naturalized in Europe, Western Asia, North Africa, North America, and Australia.
Apulian Lords And Ladies · Arum besserianum · Arum · Elaborated Arum · Cretan Arum · Mountain Arum · Arum cyrenaicum · Dioscorides Arum · Black Sea Arum · Water Arum · Arum idaeum · Arum italicum subsp. albispathum
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Arum palaestinum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
