Arum italicum

(Lords and Ladies)

This vigorous spreader needs containment or a large area to fill, but in the right spot it is an easy groundcover that has both summer and winter interest. During the fall, large, arrow-shaped deep green leaves with white veins appear and persist through the winter. After the leaves fade in summer and a period of dormancy occurs, leaves are replaced by greenish-white spathes and quickly followed by dense spikes of orange-red berries which persist until the leaves return in fall. If grown in a partially shady site, it will produce large leaves with fewer berries, in an open, sunny site, smaller leaves with many berries. Zone 6.