Species › Plants › Golden Club

Golden Club

Orontium aquaticum

UncommonPlant
Illustration of Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum)
Safety note: All parts contain calcium oxalate crystals and are toxic if eaten raw.

Golden Club is one of the most distinctive aquatic plants in eastern North America, producing waxy blue-green leaves that shed water like a lotus and striking golden-yellow flower spikes (spadices) that emerge from the water in early spring. Its blooms appear before most trees leaf out, making it a valuable early nectar source. Native Americans dried and ground the seeds into flour after extensive cooking to neutralize the toxins.

Habitat
Shallow ponds, slow streams, swamps, and tidal freshwater marshes of the eastern United States
Diet
Seeds eaten by wood ducks after processing; early blooms visited by small native bees
How common
Uncommon

Best time to see a Golden Club

The best time to see a Golden Club is March–May, when about 65% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 3,974 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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