Lizard's Tail - Saururus cernuus

Bare Roots will be ready in April for pick up or shipping

 Phonetic: saw-roo-rus SER-new-us

 Lizard’s Tail, is a distinctive perennial native to the wetlands of eastern North America. It typically grows 2 to 4 feet tall and is easily recognized by its heart-shaped leaves and drooping, flower spikes that resemble a lizard’s tail. This plant thrives in full sun to partial shade and requires consistently wet to saturated soils, making it ideal for the edges of ponds, marshes, and slow-moving streams. It tolerates shallow standing water and can even grow partially submerged, provided the roots remain anchored in rich, organic, mucky soil. Its rhizomatous growth habit allows it to form dense colonies that stabilize soil and prevent erosion along waterways.

Lizard’s tail blooms from late spring through mid-summer, typically between June and August. Its tiny white flowers are densely packed on the drooping spikes and emit a light, spicy fragrance that attracts a wide variety of pollinators, including bees, flies, and butterflies. It is also a host plant for the Buffalo Moth. After pollination, the flowers give way to small, dry fruits that mature by late summer and early fall. These fruits provide a modest food source for some wetland birds and help disperse seeds through water movement.

• Hardiness Zone: 3-9
• Native Region: BONAP Map
• BONAP Map Key Color Guide: Map Color Key
• Sun Exposure: Part Sun, Part Shade
• Flower Color: White
• Bloom Time: May, June, July, August, 
• Soil Type: Moist, Wet
• Mature Plant Size: 2-4'H, 1-2'W
• Plant Spacing: 1-3'
• Host Plant: Buffalo Moth,
• Attracts: Bees, Butterflies, Birds
• Advantages: Deer and rabbit Resistant 
• Landscape Uses: Shade Garden, Rain Garden, 
• Companion Plants: Cardinal Flower, Buttonbush, Cinnamon Fern, Northern Blue Flag