Mouse-tail plant

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Does anyone know of the Mouse-tail plant (latin name is arisarum something-or-other)? I saw a photo of one in a shade garden and it's adorable, but the Sunset Western Garden doesn't mention it.

-- Lucy Huntzinger (huntzinger@mindspring.com), April 23, 1999

Answers

Well, I didn't find much on culture, but I did find it in a few mail order places. It is apparently related to arum and calla lily and such things, which means it's probably mildly poisonous and probably likes moist acidic soil and shade. Here's a quote:

Arisarum proboscideum

$5.00 Mouse Plant: Dense clumps of small arrow shaped leaves, almost hiding the cute and curious little brown and white aroid flowers with a drawn out upright spathe tip. These tips stick up through the foliage looking, some say, like little mouse tails. Can take deep shade. z7. Araceae; S.Italy, Spain. (proboscideum = snout like, elongated probiscus, ref. to the long spathe tip)

That was here:

http://www.collectorsnursery.com/html/a-c.html

It's also listed in these places:

http://www.b-and-t-world-seeds.com/commamz.htm -- here there are three different plants called mouse tail plant, but it does list this arisarum whatever as well. I think they sell seeds for this plant, but it was a confusing web site so I'm not sure.

It's also for sale here, for $6:

http://www.microtech.com.au/dudweb/et-cat-a.htm

... and here, for $5:

http://www.worldplants.com/a2.htm

I did find a picture here:

http://www.brunt.demon.co.uk/cubg/arisarum.html

..and you're right, it's cute!

Here's a related species that's kind of similar:

http://www.bulbsociety.com/GALLERY_OF_THE_WORLDS_BULBS/GRAPHICS/Arisar um/Arisarum_vulgare/Arisarumvulgare.html

-- Xeney (garden@xeney.com), April 24, 1999.


As a follow up, not that anyone but Beth and I care, I bought a mouse-tail plant from www.collectorsnursery.com last summer. This spring it bloomed and made two very charming mousetails plus attractive, shiny, arrowhead leaves. It's a deep shade plant, though. It really cannot tolerate direct light or heat, and I've had trouble finding a woodsy enough setting to keep it going through this summer's heat. I'm quite pleased with it.

-- Lucy Huntzinger (huntzinger@mindspring.com), June 21, 2000.

I thought I was the only person with a mouse tail plant. I bought one last year and it has been great! I planted mine in the front of a bed that gets morning sun and then shade the rest of the day. It has been doing very well--almost tripled in size. I almost forgot to check for the "tails" because one of my volunteer forget-me-not (the biggest mistake I made during my first year of gardening, I now have forget-me-nots everywhere) plants was beginning to grow over it. I must say it is the cutest damn thing in the yard and I love seeing friends reactions to it. --Diane Di Gleria

-- Diane Di Gleria (dd@kendaco.telebte.com), July 26, 2000.

I must be doing something wrong. I've got mine in shade in the morning and partial sun in the afternoon, and it's not thriving at all. I'm probably underwatering at the very least (it's very windy here, dries everything out so fast). I'll try moving it around this fall when it goes dormant to a place with afternoon shade. Maybe that'll do the trick. It was so pretty this spring in a more protected environment.

-- Lucy Huntzinger (huntzinger@mindspring.com), July 30, 2000.

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