Crowdipper (Pinellia ternata) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Crowdipper is an East Asian plant introduced in parts of the United States. It has three-part leaves and a green hood around a flower spike whose thin tip extends well beyond the hood. Small round growths on the leaf stalk can detach and grow into new plants.

Appearance

Appearance: Leaves rise on stalks about 6–8 in (15–20 cm) tall and are usually divided into three narrow to oval leaflets. A green or whitish-green hood surrounds the lower part of a flower spike whose thin tip extends well beyond it.
Leaves: Small round may form near the base or middle of the leaf stalk and where the leaflets meet.
Flowering time: Across its native range, flowering is reported from May through July.
Fruit: The small pale green to whitish berries are oval and usually contain one seed.

Look-alikes

Jack-in-the-pulpitArisaema triphyllum

Check the leaf stalk: round bulbils there or at the meeting point of the three leaflets point to crowdipper. Jack-in-the-pulpit has a broader hood over its flower spike; use a close photo when bulbils are absent.

Why they get mixed upBoth have three-part leaves and a hood wrapped around a central flower spike.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: roadsides
cultivated ground
waste places
Range: It is not native to the United States. It has been introduced in California, Washington, D.C., Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Preferred conditions: It grows from an underground in temperate habitats and often occupies disturbed ground.

Growing it

Propagation: It spreads by seed, underground corms, and easily detached bulbils.
Toxicity: The raw corm is poisonous. Do not taste or use a wild plant as medicine.

Name and classification

About the name: It was also called Arisaema ternatum and Arum ternatum in older references.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: It has a long history as a source of processed material used in East Asian traditional medicine.

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