Arisaema is a large and diverse genus of the flowering plant family Araceae. The largest concentration of species is in China and Japan, with other species native to other parts of southern Asia as well as eastern and central Africa, Mexico and eastern North America. Asiatic species are often called cobra lilies, while western species are often called jack-in-the-pulpit; both names refer to the distinctive appearance of the flower, which consists of an erect central spadix rising from a spathe. 
One unusual trait shared by all Arisaema species, and not those of other genera, is the sex change. Arisaema plants are typically male when small, and female or hermaphroditic when large, with a single plant capable of changing sex based on nutrition and genetics, and perhaps changing sex several times during its long life of 20 years or more. They do well in gardens that receive little winter rain but also do very well in pots and containers. 
Arisaema tortuosum, the Whipcord Cobra Lily, is a species of considerable stature, up to 1.5 meter in gardens, but larger in the wild, maybe up to 2 meters. It is native from the Himalayas and western China to southern India and Myanmar (Burma). Arisaema tortuosum is so-called for the tortuous route taken by the spadix. The thick, 1.2m tall, fleshy stalk emerges in early spring, adorned by two tropical-looking palmate green leaves near the top. As the leaves unfurl, the pitcher that tops the stem opens to reveal a green Jack-in-the-pulpit flower, but with a whip-like tongue that extends from the mouth of the flower upwards to 30cm or more. Sometimes the spadix-appendage is green, other times it is purple. The flowers are dioecious, individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant. Hardiness zones 5-9, (-26°C/-15°F, -5°C/25°F) in winter. Enjoys a moist, fertile well-drained and neutral to acidic soil in a cool, shady site. Water regularly; do not overwater. 
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