Known as Arum Lilies, these plants are neither arums nor lilies, but who cares! Indigenous to Southern Africa, and this white variety to the Western Cape in particular, these plants were taken to the Old World as early as the 1500's and now grow wild on most continents.
They are one of the most visible wild flowers in the Cape because of their physical size, and that they don't open and close with the sun. So if you are on a hunt for Spring Flowers, on a drizzling, grey day like today, you'll see them everywhere. This flower in this picture has a flower head of about 4 inches, and stands about 15 inches from the ground.
They also make good cut flowers, and for generations provided a source of income for people who would pick large bunches and sell at the side of the road. But now we are being educated about the impact on the insects and micro-frogs that live in the flower, and it has become a criminal offence to pick a wild arum.
The Afrikaans name for the plant is "Vark Blom", meaning Pig Flower because its leaves and rhizomes are popular with animals that root for food.
SO pretty! Thank you so much for the information about them. I love knowing what I'm looking at! It's really fun to learn about things in all parts of the world. Fantastic photo!
