Zantedeschia aethiopica

Zantedeschia aethiopica (right) with Arthropodium cirratum

The calla or arum lily is an old-fashioned plant of which I am very fond. They grew lushly in the garden of my childhood, sited as they were nearby the septic tank! I was intrigued by their dramatic, furled blooms, which seemed to have funeral overtones, though these days they have become very trendy again in floral arrangements.

Zantedeschia aethiopica Green Goddess

Zantedeschia aethiopica Green Goddess

It grows from a rhizome and come from South Africa, and are regarded as reasonably frost hardy. Zantedeschia belong to the Araceae family of plants, which includes Alocasia, Colocasia, Spathiphyllum and Philodendron, most of which do well in our climate. The basic form grows 60-90cm in height and flowers from late winter till around the end of spring. Leaves are lush and arrow-shaped. It has a large, dead-white funnel-shaped spathe, with a prominent central spadix. The texture of the spathe is very dense. There is a lovely cultivar called 'Green Goddess', which has flowers suffused with green. Note that the authorities regard these plants as weeds and if growing them, you should always remove the spent flowers. It may be preferable to grow one of the various dwarf cultivars, such as 'Little Gem' and 'White Gnome'. I sometimes find these tend to end up growing as tall as the normal ones, for some reason! A lovely version that looks very much like the basic species but with its foliage speckled with white spots seems possibly to be Zantedeschia albomaculata.

Miniature version of Zantedeschia aethiopica

Miniature version of Zantedeschia aethiopica

The plant will grow in full shade (though it can also grow in sun), with some moisture. Indeed, they can be grown in a pond. I like to team them with a flower of airy form, such as the renga renga lily (Arthropodium cirratum) as a contrast. There are Zantedeschia species with yellow or mauve to purple blooms, and hybrids of these, known as New Zealand Mixed Hybrids, with flowers in beautiful colours of pinks, red, bronze and orange; some have speckled foliage. I have never had much luck with any of these ones except for the soft pink-flowered 'Marshmallow'. Many of these seem to need warmth and very rich soil, and are certainly not as easy to grow as Zantedeschia aethiopica!

All parts of the plant are poisonous including the yellow spike and surrounding white spathe. If eaten, symptoms can include swelling of the tongue and throat, stomach pain, vomiting and severe diarrhoea.

Postscript: I eventually took out the large forms of this plant, including 'Green Goddess'. as they were spreading too much. The smaller versions seem OK to grow.