Dumb cane

Contact dermatitis Dumb cane Calcium oxalate crystals... 

The name Arisaema is derived from the Greek word Aris (arum) and Haema (blood). Arum constitutes a large family of plants that includes 2000 species and includes members from the Arum, Arisaema, Calla, Dieffenbachia, and Philodendron genera. Common names included in this family include calla lilies, dumb cane, jack-in-the-pulpit, taro, and skunk cabbage. 

The precise incidence of irritant reactions is unknown. It is very difficult to prepare wreaths or delicate arrangements with gloved hands. Minor trauma is common due to wire or broken stems. Repeated wet work leads to a cumulative irritant dermatitis (Thi-boutot et al. 1990), compounded by irritant sap from stems of bulbous species, such as Narcissus (Gude et al. 1988 Julian and Bowers 1997). Crystals of calcium oxalate are the major irritant in bulbous plants as well as in the dumb cane, Dieffenbachia (Ippen et al. 1986). Ornamental species of Euphorbia (spurge) are potent irritants, notably the snow in summer , E. marginata (Urishibata and Kase 1991). 

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