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fireflag
fireflag (Thalia dealbata)
Features and Behaviors
FEATURES
This species is also known as powdery alligator-flag, powdery thalia or hardy water canna. A single plant may grow from six to 10 feet tall and may be three to six feet wide. Its flowers are violet-purple and produced at the tip of a long stalk. Each leaf has a stalk that may be up to two feet in length. Leaves are blue-green with a white, powdery coating and up to 18 inches long.
BEHAVIORS
Fireflag blooms from June through August. It is a plant of swampy areas and is more common further south than Illinois. It was originally known in the state only in Alexander County. Plants from that county that were in danger of being eliminated through construction activities were transplanted to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Henry N. Barkhausen Cache River Wetlands Center near Cypress in Johnson County and have become established. The flowers are a source of pollen and nectar for many pollinators.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Marantaceae
Illinois Status: species of concern, native
