Wednesday's Wildflower: Golden Club
Golden Club, Orontium aquaticum L. Text and Photos by Donna Bollenbach, Suncoast Chapter Golden Club, Alderman Ford Preserve, Hillsborough County photo by Donna Bollenbach Golden Club is an aquatic plant that grows from stout rhizomes in shallow streams, ponds and swamps throughout most of Florida, and much of the eastern United States, and on the coastal plains The Waxy leaves repel water. Photo by Donna Bollenbach of Southeast Texas. Typical of plants in the family Araceae, its tiny flowers are closely arranged around a fleshy stem, forming a yellow spadix, thus the common name “Golden Club.” It’s other common name “Never Wet”, refers to its large velvety bluish green leaves with a waxy coating that repels water . Its Latin generic name derives from a plant that grows in the Orontes River of Syria. Golden Club is a member of the arum family, and related to Jack-in-the pulpit, skunk cabbage and the garden calla lily. It is the only arum ...