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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Calla palustris — water arum, wild calla

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Facts

Wild calla is distributed across the northern temperate one, including Europe, Asia and northern North America. Calcium oxalate chrystals in the plant make it inedible unless processed by cooking or other means. Native Americans traditionally used this plant for limited medicinal purposes, including treating snakebites, swelling, and soreness.

Habitat

Marshes, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps, wetland margins (edges of wetlands)

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
wetlands
New England state
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
Leaf arrangement
the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)
Leaf blade shape
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is roughly circular, as wide as long
Leaf blade length
50–120 mm
Flower petal color
NA
Flower petal length
0 mm
Petal fusion
NA
Inflorescence type
  • the inflorescence differs from the choices given
  • the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)
Ovary position
the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
Fruit type (specific)
the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
Fruit length
6–12 mm
Show all characteristics

  • Clonal plantlets

    Axillary bulblets
    there are no bulblets being produced in axils

  • Flowers

    Anther attachment
    the anther is attached by its base to the filament
    Bulblets replace flowers
    there are no bulblets where the flowers are located
    Carpels fused
    NA
    Filament surface
    the filament surface has no hairs or scales on it
    Flower bract length
    0 mm
    Flower bracts
    there are no bracts associated with the flower
    Flower number
    3–900
    Flower orientation
    the flowers point upward or spread or curve outward
    Flower petal color
    NA
    Flower petal length
    0 mm
    Flower shape
    NA
    Flower symmetry
    NA
    Form of style
    the style is knob-like at the tip, and unbranched
    Fringed petal edges
    NA
    Hairs on flower stalk
    NA
    Inflorescence hair glands
    the axis of the inflorescence has no hairs on it
    Inflorescence length
    15–25 mm
    Inflorescence type
    • the inflorescence differs from the choices given
    • the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)
    Inflorescence width
    7–15 mm
    Length of flower stalk
    0 mm
    Length of peduncle
    150–300 mm
    Marks on petals
    NA
    Nectar spur
    the flower has no nectar spurs
    Number of carpels
    1
    Number of pistils
    1
    Number of sepals and/or petals
    there are no petals, sepals or tepals in the flower, or they are not clearly present
    Number of styles
    1
    Ovary position
    the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
    Petal and sepal arrangement
    the flower includes neither petals nor sepals
    Petal appearance
    NA
    Petal base
    NA
    Petal fusion
    NA
    Petal hairs on inner/upper surface
    NA
    Petal nectaries
    NA
    Sepal appearance
    NA
    Sepal length
    0 mm
    Sepal orientation
    NA
    Sepals fused only to sepals
    NA
    Spathe
    the plant has a spathe surrounding the flower spike
    Spathe form
    the spathe just wraps around the base of the spike of flowers
    Spathe length
    30–80 mm
    Stamen number
    • 10
    • 11
    • 12
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    Stamen position relative to petals
    NA
    Stamen types
    the stamens within a cycle are distinctly of two types
    Stamens fused
    the stamens are not fused to one another
    Stamens fused outwards
    NA
    Style petal-like
    the style is not broad and flattened like a petal
    Tepals
    NA

  • Fruits or seeds

    Berry color
    red
    Capsule ridges
    NA
    Fruit compartments
    there is only one locule in the fruit
    Fruit cross-section
    the fruit is round in cross-section
    Fruit length
    6–12 mm
    Fruit stalk orientation
    NA
    Fruit type (general)
    the fruit is fleshy
    Fruit type (specific)
    the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
    Fruit width
    5–10 mm
    Other markings on berry
    the ripe fruits are mostly one color without spots or streaks

  • Glands or sap

    Sap
    the sap is milky and opaque, and may be white or colored

  • Growth form

    Lifespan
    the plant lives more than two years
    Root septa
    the roots do not have transverse septa
    Underground organs
    the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

  • Leaves

    Hairs on underside of leaf blade
    the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
    the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
    Leaf arrangement
    the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)
    Leaf blade basal lobes
    the leaf blades do not have basal lobes
    Leaf blade base
    the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)
    Leaf blade base shape
    The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes) or sagittate (arrow-shaped, with pointed, backward-facing lobes)
    Leaf blade bloom
    the underside of the leaf blade has no noticeable waxy or powdery bloom
    Leaf blade cross-section
    the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section
    Leaf blade faces
    both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed
    Leaf blade form
    Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant
    Leaf blade length
    50–120 mm
    Leaf blade orientation
    the upper surface of the leaf blade faces the stem of the plant
    Leaf blade shape
    • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
    • the leaf blade is roughly circular, as wide as long
    Leaf blade surface colors
    the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color
    Leaf blade tip
    the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)
    Leaf blade veins
    the lateral veins are palmate, (and do not arch towards the leaf tip) or pinnate
    Leaf blade width
    40–140 mm
    Leaf stalk length
    60–400 mm
    Leaf type
    the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
    Leaflet number
    0
    Stipule twining
    NA
    Stipules
    there are no stipules on this plant

  • Place

    Habitat
    wetlands
    New England state
    • Connecticut
    • Maine
    • Massachusetts
    • New Hampshire
    • Rhode Island
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • edges of wetlands
    • marshes
    • shores of rivers or lakes
    • swamps

  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the leaves have no particular smell

  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Flowering stem growth form
    the flowering stem is held upright
    Flowering stem leaves
    there are no true leaves on the flowering stem
    Stem hairs
    NA

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
present
Rhode Island
present
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Massachusetts
unranked (S-rank: SNR)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

1.  Calla palustris L. N

wild calla. CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT; throughout. Marshes, laggs, swamps, and lake borders.

Native to North America?

Yes

Family

Araceae

Genus

Calla