Golden-club
Orontium aquaticum
Found in ponds, lakes and their shores; streams, rivers and their banks; swamps; freshwater tidal marshes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Spread
- 1–2.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- February to May
- Fruiting season
- May to July
Recorded in 48 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.


Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 153 animals.
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- American Tree SparrowSpizella arborea
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Boat-tailed GrackleQuiscalus major
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
Who uses this plant?
4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Orontium
- Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Parapoynx maculalisPolymorphic Pondweed Moth
- Parapoynx seminealisFloating-Heart Waterlilly Moth, Waterlily Casebearer
3BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Orontium
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Araceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Yellow, green or white
- Fruit begins
- May
- Fruit ends
- July
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “February to May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow, green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Bog Torches; Golden Club; Never Wet
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























