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Saururaceae FAMILY

Saururus cernuus

Saururus cernuus

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Plants are fairly cold tolerant, but are best given a protective mulch in the winter[1]. This is a plant for a boggy area of the garden and for shallow water up to 15cm deep, it is able to withstand temporary flooding[1, 2]. It prefers a loamy soil[3] growing well in pond margins though it spreads vigorously[1]. It can succeed in damp sites in the woodland as well as in the bog garden[4]. Prefers a position in full sun but tolerates partial to deep shade[5]. The flowers are fragrant[6]. The flowers, leaves and roots of this plant have a generally pleasant citrus aroma[2].

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[4]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring[3, 4]. 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[4]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Saururus+cernuus>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Complete Guide to Water Plants. — Muhlberg. H. · 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.
  2. [2]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · 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.
  5. [5]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  6. [6]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · 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.
  7. [7]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  8. [8]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · 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.
  9. [9]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · 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.
  10. [10]The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. — Coffey. T. · Facts on File. · 1993 · ISBN 0-8160-2624-6 ↩︎A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
  11. [11]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · 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.