Golden Club
Orontium aquaticum
An unusual native arum for pond edges and shallow water: in spring it sends up slim white stalks tipped with a bright gold club of tiny flowers, above velvety blue-green leaves that shed water like wax. Slow and clump-forming, content in acidic, sandy muck. The root and seed are traditional foods once thoroughly cooked or dried — eaten raw, both contain calcium oxalate crystals that feel like being pricked with needles, but heat or drying neutralizes it completely.
- Family
- Araceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 1–2 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2.5 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- wet
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- March, April
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators
- Landscape uses
- rain garden, naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV