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Page 2
So many new species are being discovered or made available to western gardeners for the first time that it is imperative that we try to understand their native habitats if we hope to be able to grow them successfully.
From early days, the genus has been classified into various sections based on similar morphological traits. With all the new tools currently available to taxonomists (DNA, electron microscopes, etc.), more is being learned about the relationships of the species and some have been switched to other sections; new sections have been created and this will likely continue for quite some time. Gusman's book lists the following Sections. The number of species in each is shown in parentheses after the Section name.
Fabulous Foliage
What may appear to be three leaves (A. triphyllum, for instance) is actually one blade divided into three leaflets. Some species have as many as twenty-seven leaflets. Even those with only three leaflets vary considerably in shape, size and texture. A. candidissimum, for instance, has very glossy, dark foliage, while A. triphyllum leaflets are thinner and (at least on my plants) a more grayish green. A. dracontium and A. kiushianum, as with most who have more than three leaflets, develop them aligned along a part of the stem called the rachis. This is generally more or less a horseshoe shape, with some forming nearly a perfect circle. A. consanguineum, one of the taller species, has highly decorative foliage; the long, slender leaves terminating in a thread-like drip tip. The leaves emerge folded like an umbrella. The illustration depicts unfurling leaflets with the center one sticking straight up, which is typical.
The copyright of the article Wild, Wonderful Aroids: Part 4 - Arisaema - Page 2 in Shade Gardening is owned by Marge Talt. Permission to republish Wild, Wonderful Aroids: Part 4 - Arisaema - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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All Arisaema produce a shoot with one or two (rarely three) foliage leaves, each with a stem (petiole) topped by a leaf blade (lamina). The leaf blade can have a number of leaflets whose arrangement varies from species to species and sometimes, within the same species, depending on the age of the plant. 
