Common Jack-in-the-pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in moist forests, bottomlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–2.5 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- March to April
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Recorded in 39 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 72 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (59)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Arisaema
- Spilosoma latipennisPink-Legged Tiger Moth
1BirdsRecorded eating Arisaema in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- Wild Turkey2 diet records
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Other insects 1
- Coriscus ferus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps
Birds that eat Arisaema 1
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
Plant details
- Family
- Araceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Brown/copper, green, purple or white
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to April” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Brown/copper, green, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Common Jack in the pulpit; Jack In The Pulpit
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds. Will self-sow. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications


