Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

A native North American wetland shrub whose spherical white flower heads — each a dense globe of hundreds of tiny tubular florets — give it its name. It thrives along stream banks and pond edges, and its nectar-rich blooms draw butterflies and bees while its seeds attract waterfowl.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Cephalanthus
Species: Cephalanthus occidentalis