ARUM ITALICUM ’CHUI’
ORIGIN:
CULTIVAR DESCRIPTION:
A spotted selection of Arum italicum introduced by John Grimshaw. The blade carries dark spotting in addition to the pale veining of the species; the cultivar name is Swahili for leopard, chosen for that spotting.
NOTES:
1. The name is Swahili for leopard, and was chosen for the spotting on the leaf.¹
2. The plant is distributed in the United States as a hybrid of Arum italicum and Arum dioscoridis, under the nothospecific name Arum × diotalicum.² Grimshaw, who introduced it, holds that it is pure Arum italicum and that Arum dioscoridis was simply also growing in the same garden. He further notes that the nothospecific epithet has never been validly published, so the name has no standing whichever way the parentage falls.¹
REFERENCES:
1. John M. Grimshaw, pers. comm., September 2026
2. Juniper Level Botanic Garden — Arum world
Additional photos by Chris Cotterell and @bulbonomads