Buttonbush vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

Buttonbush vs Water Arum

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Calla palustris

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Buttonbush
Water Arum

Buttonbush is a moisture loving shrub that provides year round interest.

It has round, fragrant flowers resembling small buttons or pincushions. The flowers transform into small reddish-brown fruit that persists into winter while the leaves take on shades of red in fall.

Providing essential food to bees, butterflies, and other insects, this shrub is versatile. Try it in your next shrub border.

Water Arum is a native perennial wetland plant known for its showy white oval sheaths (spathe) that surround a yellow-green, cylindrical flower spike (spadix). It has large, oblong, heart-shaped leaves on stems that rise above the water from shallow, spreading rhizomes. The blossoms are followed in late summer by tiny, pear-shaped fruits that ripen to bright red, adding ornamental interest to wet habitats.

Water Arum provides food for birds and small mammals that eat its berries, and its flowers attract pollinators. It can tolerate cold climates and forms colonies in shallow water and saturated soils. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, riparian planting, naturalisation, and habitat projects in wet and shaded environments.

Buttonbush Quick Facts

Water Arum Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 1b
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Light: any
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: long
Life span: short
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: toxic if ingested
Flowers: large, white, spherical
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: red, in clusters
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS, NB
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Other Names: bog arum, swamp lily, wild calla, wild dragon