NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Saururus cernuus

Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon, American Swamp Lily

Scientific Name:	Saururus cernuus
Genus:	Saururus
Species Epithet:	cernuus
Common Name:	Lizard's-tail, Water-dragon, American Swamp Lily
Plant Type	Herb/Wildflower
Life Cycle	Perennial
Plant Family	Saururaceae(Lizard's-Tail Family)
Native/Alien:	NC Native
Invasive Status:	^(*Key)
Size:	1-3 ft., 3-6 ft.
Bloom Color(s):	White
Light:	Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day, Less than 2 hours of sun per day
Soil Moisture:	Moist, Wet
Bloom Time:	May, June, July, August, September
Growing Area:	Mountains, Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain
Habitat Description:	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. Common in the coastal plain and most of the piedmont; less common in w. Piedmont and rare in the Mountains.
Leaf Arrangement:	Alternate
Leaf Retention:	Deciduous
Leaf Type:	Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like
Leaf Form:	Simple
Life Cycle:	Perennial
Wildlife Value:	Has some wildlife value
Landscape Value:	Suitable for home landscapes
State Rank:	S5: Secure ^(*Key)
Global Rank:	G5 - Secure ^(*Key)
Notes:	Colonial and can spread aggressively.
Growing by a stream Orange County, NC Bettina Darveaux
Inflorescence emerges from a lower node water garden in Orange County, NC Bettina Darveaux
The inflorescence is a very dense raceme of tiny white flowers in a narrow spire, having a distinctly drooping tip. The progression of flower opening is from the base upwards. Garden in Orange County, NC Bettina Darveaux
Links:	USDA PLANTS Database Record https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/plant_list.php https://nc.audubon.org/conservation/bird-friendly-communities/bird-friendly-native-plants https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/saururus-cernuus/ https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/saururus/cernuus/