Arisaema is a large and diverse genus of the flowering plant family Araceae. The largest concentration of species is in China and Japan, with other species native to other parts of southern Asia as well as eastern and central Africa, Mexico and eastern North America.[1] Asiatic species are often called cobra lilies, while western species are often called jack-in-the-pulpit; both names refer to the distinctive appearance of the flower, which consists of an erect central spadix rising from a spathe.[2][3][4]
The closest relatives of Arisaema appear to be Pinellia and Typhonium (although the latter as defined in 2004 seems to be paraphyletic, having given rise to Arisaema and other genera).[5] One unusual trait shared by all Arisaema species, and not those of other genera, is the sex change or act of Sequential hermaphroditism. Arisaema plants are typically male when small, and female or hermaphroditic when large, with a single plant capable of changing sex based on nutrition[5] and genetics,[6] and perhaps changing sex several times during its long life (20 years or more).[5]
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