jack-in-the-pul·pit

(jăk′ĭn-thə-po͝ol′pĭt, -pŭl′-)

n. pl. jack-in-the-pulpits

An eastern North American tuberous herb (Arisaema triphyllum) having three-lobed leaves and a striped, leaflike spathe that curls over an upright spadix. Also called regionally Indian turnip.

[From the resemblance of the inflorescence to a person standing in a pulpit.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

jack-in-the-pulpit

1. (Plants) an E North American aroid plant, Arisaema triphyllum, having a leaflike spathe partly arched over a clublike spadix

2. (Plants) Brit another name for cuckoopint

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

jack′-in-the-pul′pit

n., pl. -pul•pits.

any North American plant of the genus Arisaema, of the arum family, having an upright spadix arched over by a spathe.

[1840–50, Amer.]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	jack-in-the-pulpit - common American spring-flowering woodland herb having sheathing leaves and an upright club-shaped spadix with overarching green and purple spathe producing scarlet berries Arisaema atrorubens, Arisaema triphyllum, Indian turnip, wake-robin aroid, arum - any plant of the family Araceae; have small flowers massed on a spadix surrounded by a large spathe Arisaema, genus Arisaema - tuberous or rhizomatous herbaceous perennials
	2.	jack-in-the-pulpit - common European arum with lanceolate spathe and short purple spadix; emerges in early spring; source of a starch called arum Arum maculatum, cuckoopint, lords-and-ladies aroid, arum - any plant of the family Araceae; have small flowers massed on a spadix surrounded by a large spathe genus Arum - type genus of the Araceae: tuberous perennial herbs of Europe and Asia with usually heart-shaped leaves arum - starch resembling sago that is obtained from cuckoopint root

References in periodicals archive

Bales, a naturalist and author, provides 12 essays about nature in East Tennessee, describing fleeting, short-lived, or transient flora and fauna: the short-eared owl; the jack-in-the-pulpit plant; the cerulean warbler; the ghost plant, which grows in areas without sunlight; the Appalachian panda, an ancestor of the red panda; the ruby-throated hummingbird; the freshwater jellyfish; the monarch butterfly; the seldom-seen lake sturgeon and its reintroduction into the waters of the Tennessee Valley; the whooping crane; the southern pine beetle; and the coyote-wolf and coyote-dog hybrids and their emergence in the eastern states.

Ephemeral by Nature: Exploring the Exceptional With a Tennessee Naturalist

A Foxglove B Deadly nightshade C Jack-in-the-pulpit D Lords and ladies QUESTION 5 - for 5 points: Which musical featured rival gangs named The Jets and The Sharks?

The Accumulator Quiz; Each question has four possible answers and is worth from one to 15 points. Circle your chosen answers and keep a record of your points total. Maximum total points 120

A prominent aroid in Georgia is the Jack-in-the-pulpit. Arisaema triphyllum.

Spadix function in the jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum

She was not considered particularly talented artistically as a young girl but by the eighth grade, she announced, "I am going to become an artist." One of her earliest inspirations was a high school teacher who taught her to look for detail in the flower of a jack-in-the-pulpit. While in Chicago studying art, she suffered a severe case of measles.

Rubin, Susan Goldman. Wideness & Wonder: The Life and Art of Georgia O'Keeffe

Bizarre botanicals; how to grow string-of-hearts, jack-in-the-pulpit, panda ginger, and other weird and wonderful plants.

Bizarre botanicals; how to grow string-of-hearts, jack-in-the-pulpit, panda ginger, and other weird and wonderful plants

BIZARRE BOTANICALS: HOW TO GROW STRING-OF-HEARTS, JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT, PANDA GINGER, AND OTHER WEIRD AND WONDERFUL PLANTS is a 'must' for any gardener with access to a hothouse and a desire to grow something out of the ordinary.

Bizarre Botanicals

Yet her groups and combinations here showed her attention falling, for example, on the visual rub between a segment of prickled cactus pad and a near-abstract rectangle of muscled skin; on echoing shapes in a penis and a jack-in-the-pulpit flower, in winding plant stems and curled-up toes and feet; in rhymes across the room between sculptured heads in black bronze and white marble.

"Eye to Eye": Sean Kelly Gallery