Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Piperales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Saururus cernuus
FAMILY
Saururaceae
NEW! Click to go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Saururus from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saururus cernuus
FAMILY
Saururaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 050-01-001:
Saururus cernuus
FAMILY
Saururaceae
COMMON NAME:
Lizard's Tail, Water-dragon
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sace_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_sace_004_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_cernuus_73563
March Collier County FL
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
Leaves are broad, pale green, heart-shaped, and entire, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers.
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Keith Bradley kab_s_cernuus_73566
March Collier County FL
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
Similar to Fairywand's inflorescence, but not to its leaves or habitat, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.
COMPARE
Fairywand and Lizard's Tail
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JK Marlow jkm0506k_15
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_saururus_cernuus_6
June
)
JK Marlow jkm070703_099
July Raleigh County WV
Sandstone Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm070703_106
July Raleigh County WV
Creekside/Riverside
)
JK Marlow jkm070703_117
July Raleigh County WV
Creekside/Riverside
Perennial wetland herb that forms large colonies from underground rhizomes, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.
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Steve Marlow snm070703d101_057
July Raleigh County WV
Creekside/Riverside
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Saururus cernuus
FAMILY
Saururaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saururus cernuus
FAMILY
Saururaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 050-01-001:
Saururus cernuus
FAMILY
Saururaceae
1332
Marginal emergent aquatic (rooted); Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Habitat: swamps, overwash pools in stream floodplains, freshwater and oligohaline tidal marshes, semipermanently inundated rocky bars and shores, beaver ponds, ditches, usually where water ponds seasonally or periodically. In swamps of the Coastal Plain, Saururus often is dominant in large patches, per Weakley's Flora
NEW! Click here to see a map from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US showing range and abundance.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomatous
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White (filaments)
Sepals absent
Petals absent
3-7 stamens
Inflorescence a spike
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers p250
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers p159
- Field Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alabama p33
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p168
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p290
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p402
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p209
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry p124
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p001
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p050
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p058
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p026
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p045
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p030