Product Review

Named for its resemblance to a preacher in a canopied pulpit, Jack in the Pulpit grows wild in woodland and marsh areas and sends up its unique hooded flower in the spring. Though Native American tribes gathered and boiled the fleshy roots as a vegetable, eating the root raw causes a sensation similar to swallowing a mouthful of glass shards. This sensation is caused by the calcium oxalate crystals in the plant, which protect it from predatory animals. The faint odor, however, attracts pollinating insects to the flowering spadix, or "Jack." In spite of its repellent aspects, early Americans found many uses for this plant, including making poultices to reduce inflammation or grinding the dried roots for flour or starch.