Zantedeschia aethiopica – arum lily

Zantedeschia aethiopica (common names calla lily, arum lily; a.k.a. varkoor, an Afrikaans name meaning ‘pig’s ear’)  is a species in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa in Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Zantedeschia species are growing to 1-2.5 m tall with leaves 15–45 cm long. Common to most members of this family is a modified leaf known as a spathe. This is the part that most us would think of as the flower petal which is shaped like a funnel with a yellow, central, finger-like spadix.

Arum Lily is a popular garden plant which grows in wet mud, and in and around the edges of shallow ponds or static water.  Its size depends upon the amount of shade it experiences; it grows larger in shadier corners.  At winter times in the Cape the Arum lilies line the roads where ever there is a bit of damp or water.

It has often been used in paintings.  It was a favourite subject of the painter Georgia O’Keeffe.

Here is my painting of arum lilies: Acryllic and pastels on handmade paper.

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