Yellow Mountain Avens vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

Yellow Mountain Avens vs Water Arum

Dryas drummondii

Calla palustris

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Yellow Mountain Avens
Water Arum

Yellow Mountain Avens is a native perennial wildflower with bright yellow buttercup-like blooms. The nectar-rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. By thriving at higher elevations, it helps sustain pollinator populations and provides one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen in alpine habitats.

As a nitrogen-fixing plant, Yellow Mountain Avens enriches soil fertility and supports the growth of surrounding vegetation. It forms dense, spreading mats of evergreen foliage that act as a groundcover and help stabilize soil. Often among the first species to establish in disturbed alpine sites such as glacial outwash or landslides, it is well-suited for alpine revegetation, erosion control, naturalization, and ecological restoration projects in harsh, rocky environments.

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.

Yellow Mountain Avens Quick Facts

Water Arum Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 1b
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: mat-forming, creeping
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: stolons - medium, seeds - low
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low


Toxicity: toxic if ingested
Foliage: evergreen, leathery
Flowers: yellow, buttercup-like, nodding
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Bloom time: spring to summer
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: red, in clusters
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


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