ARUM, in botany, a genus of plants of the Monoecia Hexandria class and order. Spathe one-leafed ; convolute at the base: spadix cylindrical androgynous, naked above, bearing the stamina in the middle, and the germs at the base. There are three divisions, and upwards of thirty species. A. without stems ; leaves com pound. B. without stems ; leaves simple. C. caulescent. Of the species we notice, 1. A. dracontium, dragon, which has a large tuberous, fleshy root, which, in the spring, puts up a straight stalk about 3 feet high, spotted like the belly of a snake ; at the top it spreads out into leaves, which are cut into several narrow segments almost to the bottom ; at the top of the stalk the flower is produced, which has so strong a scent of carrion, that few persons can endure it. It grows naturally in most of the southern parts of Europe, and is preserved in gardens, to supply the markets with the roots which are used in medicine. 2. A. maculatum, cuckow-pint, wake robin : the common appellation is lords and ladies, and in Wor cestershire it is called bloody men's fin gers. It is a native of most parts of Eu rope, except the very northern ones, in shady places, and on the banks of ditches: flowering in may. The berries ripen at
the close of summer. The root and leaves of arum, when recent, are extremely acrid, and affect the tongue with a pungency as if it were pricked with needles. This sensation may be alleviated by milk, but ter, or oil. When dried, they may be used for food in case of necessity. The root, dried and powdered, is used by the French as a wash for the skin, and is sold under the name of cypress powder. 3. A. seguinum, dumb-cane, arum, grows naturally in the sugar islands, and other warm parts of America, chiefly in the low grounds; the plants abound in acrid juice, so that if a leaf or a part of the stalk be broken, and applied to the tip of the tongue, it causes a very painful sensation, and such an irritation as to prevent a person from speaking ; hence its name in Jamaica, where it is said they sometimes rub the mouths of their negroes with it by way of punishment. The stalk is used to bring sugar to a good grain, when the juice is too viscid, and cannot be brought to granulate with lime.