Baumea rubiginosa - Golden Spear

Unique and graphic, Baumea rubiginosa is an aquatic plant that will beautifully decorate the edges of a pond or a lake. It forms an upright clump of green and rigid stems. Its late summer flowering spikes are brown with red highlights. It is a low-maintenance perennial plant that thrives in the sun in very moist soil or in water up to 15 cm deep.

Originally from Asia and the Pacific, Baumea rubiginosa is a rhizomatous perennial plant from the Cyperaceae family, like the famous Papyrus from the Nile. It grows in freshwater along coastal areas: in swamps, lake shores, and streams. This aquatic plant develops from rhizomes. It consists of upright and rigid culms that can reach heights of 1 to 4 m in their native regions. These stems have good wind resistance. There are two types of leaves: the lower leaves, small in size, are sheath-like and mucronate, gray-brown in color, and the upper leaves are cylindrical, resembling the culms. In August-September, clusters of reddish-brown spikelets measuring 4 to 6 mm long form at the tips of the stems.

This soft rush thrives on the edges of a pond or a lake. Pair it with Equisetum fluviatile, also known as Water Horsetail, to enhance its verticality, or with Thalia dealbata for an exotic touch. Add some colour with Filipendula purpurea with pink flowers or a few Iris ensata 'Activity' with white and violet flowers. In the pond, don't forget to add some oxygenating plants like Elodea canadensis or Hippuris vulgaris.