Lords and ladies  (Arum maculatum)

Lords and ladies flowers in April through to May, and is a perennial, growing from a tuber underground. In autumn, it produces a cluster of dark orange berries grouped together at the top of a stem.

Wild arum is poisonous and it is better to avoid contact with it. However, in earlier times, the roots were used as a substitute for arrowroot although it has a bitter taste. The roots were more commonly used as a source of starch for collars and ruffs, even though the toxic juice left the poor laundresses’ hands terribly blistered.