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Orontium aquaticum L.

Golden club, floating arum, never-wets, tawkin

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassLiliopsidaMonocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
SubclassAlismatidaeAquatic and marshy plants
OrderAlismatalesHerbaceous flowering plants found in marshy habitats
FamilyAraceaeArum family, with plants whose flower is enclosed in a spathe
GenusOrontiumThe Dave’s Garden Botanary website says that this is named for the region of the Orontes River in Syria, from which came a Greek name orontion which was applied to some aquatic plant
SpeciesaquaticumFound in the water, relating to water

About plant names...

Golden club is native to the eastern United States, found in ponds, streams, and shallow lakes.

Plants: These unusual-looking aquatic plants are hard to mistake. Plants grow in shallow water or float in deeper water, reaching 1-2′ (30-60 cm) in height above the water line. They are emersed—rooting underwater, but otherwise above the water line.

Leaves: Whorled, strap-like, velvety, water-repellant, oblong-elliptic, 5-18″ (12-45 cm), with parallel veins. Leaf undersides are pale and silvery.

Flowers: Gold-colored flowers appear at the tips of long, white, naked, erect spadixes. The yellow tips are fertile regions. Flowers themselves are tiny, also yellow, appearing from Apr-Jun.

Fruits: Green flesy berries.

Edibility: Poisonous Skull & Crossbones. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Symptoms include burning and swelling of lips, tongue, and throat; and nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Contact with cell sap may cause skin irritation. Seeds and roots are edible with careful preparation and proper harvesting time.

Online References:

Plants.ces.ncsu.edu

The University of Florida IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Www.cumauriceriver.org

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 228

 

Orontium aquaticum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

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Orontium aquaticum (golden club, floating arum, never-wets, tawkin)

5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts

Orontium aquaticum (golden club, floating arum, never-wets, tawkin)

5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm)

Orontium aquaticum (golden club, floating arum, never-wets, tawkin)

5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts

Orontium aquaticum (golden club, floating arum, never-wets, tawkin)

5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts

Range:

About this map...