OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Piperales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Saururus cernuus   FAMILY Saururaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saururus cernuus   FAMILY Saururaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Saururus cernuus

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Saururus cernuus

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 050-01-001:

Saururus cernuus   FAMILY Saururaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Saururus cernuus

 

COMMON NAME:
Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_sace_001_lvd

        

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_sace_004_lvd

        

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

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 (Midgley, 1999).

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

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 (Nelson, 2006).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE Fairywand and Lizard's Tail

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

JK Marlow    jkm0506k_15

June    Union County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_saururus_cernuus_6

June        

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

JK Marlow    jkm070703_099

July    Raleigh County    WV

Sandstone Falls

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

JK Marlow    jkm070703_106

July    Raleigh County    WV

Creekside/Riverside

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

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 (Nelson, 2006).

image of Saururus cernuus, Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon

Steve Marlow    snm070703d101_057

July    Raleigh County    WV

Creekside/Riverside

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Saururus cernuus   FAMILY Saururaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saururus cernuus   FAMILY Saururaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Saururus cernuus

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Saururus cernuus

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 050-01-001:
Saururus cernuus   FAMILY Saururaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Saururus cernuus

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1332

Marginal emergent aquatic (rooted); Forb
Perennial

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

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (rare in Mountains)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

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:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
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!



 


Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME: