About Arum rupicola Boiss.
Arum species are split into two groups based on relative inflorescence height. "Cryptic" species grow inflorescences on short peduncles that sit amid or below the leaves, while "flag" species grow inflorescences above leaf level at the end of long peduncles. Arum rupicola Boiss. is classified as a flag species. To humans, the flowers of this species have no detectable smell. However, the appendix does produce odors that are detectable to the species' pollinators, from compounds including sesquiterpenes, traces of p-cresol, and a variety of alcohols, esters and ketones. The floral chamber wall is bicolored: the opaque upper section is dark purple, and the translucent lower section is pale green. Most Arum species produce heat with their male flowers, primarily during the first evening or night after the spathe opens. The spadix of A. rupicola holds a steady temperature around 40 °C (104 °F), which is roughly 15–20 °C (59–68 °F) warmer than ambient air temperature, between 17:00 and 23:00, after which the spadix temperature begins to drop. In terms of ecology, the main pollinators of A. rupicola are hematophagous parasites: Culicoides aricola, C. brunnicans, C. cataneii, C. circumscriptus, C. pulicari, C. punctatus, C. vexans, and Odagamia ornata. For use, people in Olgunlar collect the shoots of A. rupicola between April and May, boil them, dry them, then add the prepared shoots to ayran and pilaf dishes.
