It is estimated that more than 50 million houseplants are sold annually, and topping them all in popularity for years has been the Swiss cheese plant. Other aroids, such as philodendrons, dieffenbachias, and aglaonemas, are close runners-up. Indeed, aroids are exploited more than any other family as houseplants for their outstanding foliage and their tolerance of the conditions found in most homes and workplaces. [page 24]

Do you have any aroids in your home today? According to, Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family, written by Deni Bown, you probably have several if you are houseplant collector. You just may have an aroid or two in your outdoors garden too. Released in 2000, by Timber Press, this is the second edition of a book originally published in 1988.

Bown presents a detailed description of aroids and what makes a plant an aroids in chapter 1. It is my understanding that the flowering parts of a plant are the most important parts used in distinguishing plant families from each other, and determining which genera belong to which plant family. According to Brown, for the aroids, the flower consisting of a spathe and spadix is the distinguishing part of aroids. The spadix looks like a bumpy club protruding off the spathe. In reality, most of us wouldn't recognize the true flowers of aroids since they tend to be minute and without any petals. You'll find a wide variety of foliage types in these plants that seem to have claimed every type of habitat as a potential home. The next chapter discusses reproduction in aroids. These plants seem to utilize every possible means of attracting pollinators. I won't give more details away, but I strongly urge you to read this chapter before beginning your study of individual aroid genera.

Chapters 3 through 8 start with aroids growing in woodlands and ends with the giant tuberous aroids of the tropics. You'll find aroids growing in every type of habitat from deep shade to arid deserts. Does this surprise you? It sure did me. While reading this book, I discovered a number of favorite plants were aroids. A favorite floating plant, water lettuce, should really be called Pistia stratiotes, an aroid family member. One of my special shade garden plants, the Jack-in-the-pulpit should be called Arisaema triphyllum, a hardy member of the aroid family.

It is estimated that more than 50 million houseplants are sold annually, and topping them all in popularity for years has been the Swiss cheese plant. Other aroids, such as philodendrons, dieffenbachias, and aglaonemas, are close runners-up. Indeed, aroids are exploited more than any other family as houseplants for their outstanding foliage and their tolerance of the conditions found in most homes and workplaces. One of the easiest to grow houseplants comprises the genus Aglaonema. These plants can take lower light levels and tolerate our indoor conditions without too many complaints. Still another common houseplant is the Philodendron. It still amazes me that these all belong to the aroid plant family. Do you grow Dieffenbachias, a plant found in every plant department from chain stores to nurseries? As you might be guessing, this is still another aroid. You'll have to read this book to find out which of your other plants also come from this widespread family.

Bown dedicates one chapter to the discussion of aroids as a food plant. Taro is actually the root of Colocasia esculenta, another member of this plant family. After you learn which aroids you can use as food, be sure to read the following chapter which discusses the poisonous nature of many aroids. It'll make you want to be very sure of your plant species before trying it out as food. Some aroids are being used in medicine today.

The final chapter discusses the cultivation of aroid genera. The main species are presented with information about hardiness, cultivation requirements, and propagation hints. The most common species within each genera discussed are also listed. I had one minor criticism of this chapter until I checked through the index. The cultivation chapter uses only scientific names which concerned me until I tried looking up "jack-in-the-pulpit" in the index and was referred to the proper scientific name for this plant. Following this chapter is a Checklist of Aroid Genera grouped by plant family, subfamilies and tribes. Then a table listing all the genera, number of species, distribution, habit requirements and ecology considerations.

Recommendation

I enjoyed reading this book but found it a bit difficult to use. A person having no background in horticulture or botany would be totally discouraged. A listing of the common names of plants in the aroid family followed by the scientific name should be found near the beginning of the book. As it is, a reader knowing nothing but a common name would have to think about trying index before they would be successful in locating information on the plant. I can only conclude that this book is written for the plant collector who has taken the time to learn something about botany or horticulture before reading it. It is not intended for the average gardener. If you are seeking information on common houseplants, a general houseplant book would suit your needs better. If you've moved from being an amateur grower to being a plant collector, this book will take you to a new level of understanding about genera within the aroid family.