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Saururus cernuus
| Common name: |
Swamp Lily |
Family: |
Saururaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
43, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Eastern N. America - Rhode Island to Florida, west to Texas and Minnesota. |
| Habitat: |
Swamps and shallow water[43]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
0 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 1 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| S. chinensis[E,G,HORTIPLEX]
S. loureiri[G]
Saururopsis chinensis[G]
Spathium chinense[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Han-Gesho [E], Lizard Tail [S], Lizard Tail, Swamp Root [S], Lizard's-tail [B], Lizards Tail [P], Lizardtail [E], Swamp Root [S], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
cernuus = nodding
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Piperales. Lizard's-tail family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
China
Indochina Us Us(Choctaw) Us(Sc)
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive. |
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 0.5m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
We rate it 0/5 for edibility and
1/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires wet soil and can grow in water.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Pond, Bog Garden, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antirheumatic
Poultice Sedative Stomachic.
Sedative[61].
An infusion of the roots has been used as a wash in the treatment of
rheumatism[257]. The root is roasted then mashed and made into a poultice to
treat sore breasts[207, 222, 257]. A boiled extract of the roots is used as a
poultice to heal flesh wounds[245].
The dried leaves can be made into a tea and drunk for the treatment of back
and breast pains[207], it is also used in treating stomach ailments[222].
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
This is a plant for a boggy area of the garden, it is able to withstand
temporary flooding[56]. It prefers a loamy soil[1] growing well in pond
margins though it spreads vigorously[56]. It can succeed in damp sites in the
woodland as well as in the bog garden[200]. Prefers a position in full sun
but tolerates some shade[188].
Plants are fairly cold tolerant, but are best given a protective mulch in
the winter[56].
The flowers are fragrant[245].
Propagation
Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in early autumn.
Sow stored seed in late winter or early spring. Keep the pots moist by
standing them in shallow water[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual
pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring[1, 200]. The plants spread freely and division is
possible at almost any time in the growing season. Divisions taken in mid to
late summer should be overwintered in pots in a cold frame and then be
planted out in late spring. Regular division maintains the vigour of the
plant[200].
Scent
-
Flowers: Fresh
- The flowers are fragrant[245].
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Saururus chinensis (a possible synonym).
References for the family Saururaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
[56] Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants. E. P. Publishing Ltd. 1982 ISBN 0-7158-0789-7
Deals with a wide range of plants for temperate areas (and indoor aquaria) with quite a lot of information on cultivation techniques.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Saururus+cernuus
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Saururus+cernuus
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