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Arisaema dracontium (Green Dragon)

Arisaema dracontium (Green Dragon)

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Green dragon carries a single large leaf above moist woodland soil. Place it under trees where spring light is available and summer shade helps keep the ground from drying out.

Sun exposure for Arisaema dracontium: filtered spring sunlight; light summer shade. Soil conditions: moist. Recorded habitats include moist deciduous woods; Shaded seeps; Woodlands near springs and vernal pools. Reported height: 1½–2½ ft.

Growth habit: corm-forming perennial spreading through offsets and reseeding. Root structure: corm. Choose neighboring plants with compatible light and moisture needs, and allow space for their mature growth.

Plant specifications

Key growing facts

Sunlight Filtered spring sunlight; light summer shade
Soil moisture Moist
Height 1½–2½ ft
Bloom season Late spring and early summer

Native landscape companions

For partial sun / light shade and moist soil, consider these native plants alongside Arisaema dracontium:

Companion plant Height
Doll's-Eyes, White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) 1–2½ ft
Narrow-Leaved Cattail Sedge (Carex squarrosa) About 1¼-2½ ft
Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) 1½–3 ft
Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) 1-2½ ft

These landscape suggestions combine overlapping growing needs with documented plant associations. Match soil, seasonal wetness and mature spread to your site. Remnant records are described separately under Plant communities & associates.

Show / hide ▾Growing & planting details
Growth habit Corm-forming perennial spreading through offsets and reseeding
Root form Corm
Soil pH Published cultivation guidance lists acidic, neutral soil conditions; no optimal numeric interval is established.
Cultivation hardiness zones Zones 4a–9b (general cultivation guidance)
Drought tolerance Does not tolerate drying out well
Deer browsing The Illinois account reports little deer feeding on foliage or corms.
Plant toxicity Poison characteristics are reported; listed parts: flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, sap/juice, seeds, stems. Pet safety is not established.

Plant identification & seed reference

Botanical name Arisaema dracontium
Other common names green dragon; Dragon Arum; Dragon-Root; Green Dragon
Plant family Araceae

Plant characteristics

Arisaema dracontium (Green Dragon) is very similar to its cousin Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-Pulpit) with the only major difference being the leaf shape and Jack being a bit more common.  As opposed to the typical 3 leaf structure of the Jack Green Dragon can have between 5 and up leaflets fanning out.  Once the leaves drop it is very difficult to tell the two apart. Both occur in similar oak wooded areas that tend to have remnant plant communities relatively intact with Green Dragon being a bit more conservative.

  • Flower Color Green/Purple Seed Color Red
  • Flower Time April-July
  • Show / hide ▾Plant communities & associatesNo verified list yet

    Illinois woodland and stream communities

    Middle Fork Woods, Vermilion County (1999–2002 survey). Recorded in: dry-mesic upland forest — mature second growth; mesic ravine forest; dry-mesic upland forest — immature second growth.

    Dry-mesic upland forest — mature second growth — selected native associates: Carex pensylvanica, Carex rosea, Carex blanda.

    Mesic ravine forest — selected native associates: Geranium maculatum, Phlox divaricata, Asarum canadense.

    These plants share a recorded habitat; they were not necessarily found in the same small plot.

    Spring Bay Fen Nature Preserve — wet-mesic floodplain forest

    Surveyed in 2007, 2008 and 2011. Wet-mesic floodplain forest recorded separately from the adjoining fen. These dated records do not establish presence today.

    Other native plants recorded in this surveyed community: Acer nigrum, Acer saccharinum, Agastache nepetoides, Amorpha fruticosa, Anemone canadensis, Arisaema triphyllum, Blephilia hirsuta, Carex blanda, Carex emoryi, Carex grayi.

    Murphy, Phillippe & Ebinger 2021, Appendix 1. Selected associates from the same community; records do not show immediate neighbors or prescribe planting ratios.

    Show / hide ▾Native range & C-value

    State nativity describes a broad range. Use the Chicago-region assessment for local context; a state listing does not establish county nativity.

    Wetland indicator — NWPL 2022 Midwest FACW
    C-value — Chicago region, Flora 2017 6
    Chicago-region native — Flora 2017 Yes
    Native range — U.S. states Alabama; Arkansas; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Nebraska; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Ohio; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin
    County nativity Cook County, Illinois — native-remnant population documented in the 2000 survey. Partial county coverage; other counties have not yet been assessed here.
    Show / hide ▾Pollinators & wildlifeNo verified list yet

    No additional named relationships have been verified for this listing.

    Show / hide ▾Frequently asked questions

    What are the ideal growing conditions for Green Dragon?
    Light: Filtered spring sunlight; light summer shade. Soil moisture: Moist.

    Is Green Dragon deer and herbivore resistant?
    The Illinois account reports little deer feeding on foliage or corms. Even plants described as resistant may be browsed. Use physical protection where deer damage is a concern.

    When should I expect Green Dragon to bloom?
    Typical flowering period: Late spring and early summer. Timing varies with location and weather.

    Show / hide ▾Sources & ecological notes

    Landscape companion selection: Natural Communities compared the growing requirements shown on these species pages with selected source records: Dry-mesic upland forest — mature second growth — East-central Illinois. The shortlist is a planting-design inference. A shared record does not establish adjacency, identical soil requirements, local seed origin, or a tested planting combination. Regional synthesis records retain their documented focal-to-associate scope.

    Illinois woodland records: Larimore, Phillippe & Ebinger (2008), Middle Fork Woods flora, Appendix I. © 2008 University of Illinois Board of Trustees, CC BY 4.0. Habitat records transcribed, selected and linked to catalog names by Natural Communities. Survey: 1999–2002.

    Illinois communities & local records: Shouba & Murray: Wolf Road Prairie, Cook County (2000).

    Native range & ecological ratings: Flora of the Chicago Region (2017), via Universal FQA; USACE Chicago FQA (2017); Kew WCVP / Plants of the World Online; USACE National Wetland Plant List.

    Growing conditions & other references: Illinois Wildflowers, John Hilty; NC State Extension Plant Toolbox.

    Native range does not identify the origin of the seed or plants offered. Community and wildlife records apply to the locations and conditions described.

    Research notes & credits

    USACE/ERDC fqadata — Chicago Region FQA 2017. Herman, B., Sliwinski, R. & Whitaker, S. (2017), Chicago Region FQA Calculator; distributed by USACE/ERDC in fqadata under CC0. Values may differ from Flora of the Chicago Region (2017). CC0 dedication. Retained for comparison; the displayed C-value follows Flora database 80.

    Range data: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; 4 June 2026 release, accessed 7 September 2026. © The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. CC BY 3.0; selected and reformatted. Kew cannot warrant the quality or accuracy of these data. This use has no Kew endorsement.

    Flora rating attribution: Kenneth Johnson (2018), Flora of the Chicago Region UFQA Database, following Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha (2017), Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Individual rating facts are presented with original commentary; the calculator’s software license is not treated as a license for the underlying Flora publication.

    Growing guidance: Illinois Extension — Keeping deer out of the yard and garden. Selected facts in original wording. General deer advice is not a species resistance rating.

    Additional community records: Murphy, Phillippe & Ebinger (2021), Spring Bay Fen flora and vegetation. Selected facts and taxonomic links; source spellings and historical survey dates retained.

    Plant Shipping & Care

    We want to ensure that our customers get what they want, a native backyard oasis. To do that, we need to follow a few simple guidelines and give you some information and pointers to make sure you get your plants delivered in a healthy state.

    As a reminder, you will receive an email to confirm your pickup or shipping window just before the plants are ready. See Order Fulfillment below for seasonal fulfillment windows.

     

    Choices to Receive Your Plants & Accessories

    • Website orders: Seed, plugs and bare-root plants offered for shipping are shipped to your address. Shipping charges are calculated at checkout.
    • Container trees and shrubs: Some #3 and #5 container options are offered for scheduled pickup only. Check the selected product option and the cart pickup instructions before ordering. Pickup and shipped items require separate orders where indicated in the cart.
    • Wholesale orders: Delivery and pickup are arranged separately according to the order, supplier yard and location. Wholesale pickup is free.
    • Pickup locations and dates are confirmed by email. Please wait for confirmation before traveling to a pickup site. Our offices are not retail stores or nursery pickup locations.

     

    Order Fulfilment - When Your Plants or Other Items Will Be Ready

    We take orders all year long and seed is shipped all year, but we only provide the plants to you in certain fulfillment windows to ensure healthy plants.

    Wholesale Orders

    • Shipped or are Ready For Pick Up As Requested.

     

    Retail & Website Orders

    • Seed Typically Ships Out Within One Week Of Order All Year Long
    • Typically, single species flats ship when ready, sometimes as soon as early to mid-April (depends on weather) through early-October.
    • Mixed species kits are batched and shipped as indicated on the product page.
    • If a plant order is placed while outside of the plant fulfillment window your plants will be reserved through your payment, however, the order will not be fulfilled and shipped until the following spring. We don't want to provide you plants when they won't be happy during the cold winter months. 
    • Early in the spring and later in the fall certain species may be dormant or partially dormant with brown leaves, however they will return to grow healthy next growing season.
    • Your order may arrive in several different shipments.
    • If certain plants within an order will not be available until a later date, we may choose to hold the full order until all are ready.  In certain circumstances, we may choose to send them in two separate shipments 
    • Fulfillment is always dependent upon plant availability.  We try our best but sometimes plants do not overwinter well and perish.  If a plant is on back order you will receive an email indicating the estimated shipping date.  If we can not provide the plant we will first notify you and give you an option of substitution or a refund of that individual species.
    • Plants are typically only packaged and shipped on Mondays to ensure they do not sit in the harsh delivery facility for extended periods of time over the weekend. You will receive a confirmation email once your delivery has been shipped and to estimate your delivery date.
    • Apparel & accessories are ready typically within one to two weeks. See product page for holiday shipping.

    Where We Ship

     

     

          What to Expect When Receiving Your Delivery

          • Your plants will be packaged with the utmost care
          • We will need to cut back certain plants prior to shipping. This seems counter-intuitive, however, the fewer leaves the less water the plants can lose during shipping, resulting in healthier plants for you. This also enables the plants to fit within the protective packaging and shipped safely.

           

             Shipments

            • Larger plant shipments will look similar to the picture below with a tray of your plants and a cardboard box to protect them during shipping.

             

             

            What to Do With Your Plants After  Receiving Your Delivery

            • Unpack your order IMMEDIATELY
            • Inspect for damage and report any issues immediately to Natives@NaturalCommunities.net
            • Water your plants
            • Install your plants as quickly as possible and water the entire garden area thoroughly
            • If you cannot install your plants immediately
              • Some plants may not be in a container, put them into some kind of a container such as a paper cup with loose soil until installation
              • Make sure each plant is receiving the appropriate amount of light.
              • Continue to water daily each morning and possibly again in the afternoon
              • No additional fertilizer is needed
            How to install native plugs
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