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Sagittaria latifolia

(Arrowhead)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Arrowhead, Broad-Leaved Arrowhead, Broadleaf Arrowhead, Common Arrowhead, Duck Potato, Duck-Potato, Muskrat-Potato, Wapato, Wapatoo

Common Names in French:

Flèche D´eau, Sagittaire Commune, Sagittaire Latifoliée, Sagittaire Latifoliee

Common Names in German:

Gemeines Pfeilkraut, Veränderliches Pfeilkraut

Common Names in Italian:

Freccia D´acqua

Common Names in Swedish:

Bredpilblad

Description

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Family Alismataceae

Herbs, annual or perennial , rhizomatous , stoloniferous , or cormose, caulescent , glabrous to stellate-pubescent; sap milky . Roots septate or not septate. Leaves basal, submersed , floating, or emersed , sessile or petiolate , sheathing proximally; blade with translucent markings of dots or lines present or absent, basal lobes present or absent; venation reticulate , primary veins parallel from base of blade to apex, secondary veins reticulate. Inflorescences scapose racemes or panicles, rarely umbels, erect , rarely floating or decumbent , whorled (forming racemes) or whorls branching (forming panicles), bracteolate . Flowers bisexual or unisexual , if unisexual, staminate and pistillate on same or different plants , hypogynous, subsessile to long-pedicellate; sepals persistent , 3; petals deciduous, 3, delicate; stamens 0, 6, 9, or to 30, distinct ; anthers 2-loculed, dehiscing longitudinally; pistils 0 or 6--1500 or more, distinct or coherent proximally, 1-loculed; placentation basal; ovules1--2. Fruits achenes or follicles. Seeds: embryo U-shaped; endosperm absent in mature seed.

Genera 12, species ca. 80 (4 genera, 34 species in the flora ) : nearly worldwide, primarily tropical and subtropical regions.[1]

Genus Sagittaria

Plants perennial , rarely annual , submersed , floating-leaved, or emersed , glabrous to sparsely pubescent ; rhizomes often present, occasionally terminated by tubers; stolons often present; corms absent; tubers white to brown, smooth . Roots septate . Leaves sessile or petiolate ; petiole terete to triangular; blade with translucent markings absent, linear to obovate , base attenuate to hastate or sagittate , margins entire, apex round to acute. Inflorescences racemes , panicles, rarely umbels, of 1--17 whorls, erect , emersed or floating, rarely submersed; bracts coarse or delicate, apex obtuse to acute, smooth or papillose proximally to distally. Flowers unisexual , the proximal rarely with ring of sterile stamens; staminate flowers pedicellate , distal to pistillate flowers; pistillate flowers mostly pedicellate, rarely sessile; bracts subtending pedicels, lanceolate, shorter than pedicels, apex obtuse to acute; pedicels ascending to recurved; receptacle convex ; sepals recurved in staminate flowers, recurved to erect in pistillate flowers, often sculptured , herbaceous to leathery; petals white, rarely with pink spot or tinge, entire; stamens 7--30; filaments linear to dilated , glabrous to pubescent; pistils to 1500 or more, spirally arranged , not radiating in starlike pattern , distinct ; ovules 1; styles terminal . Fruits without longitudinal ribs , compressed , abaxially keeled or not, abaxial wings often present, lateral wing often present, 1, curved , glands present. x = 11.

Species ca. 30: mostly Western Hemisphere; Europe; Asia.[2]

Physical Description

Species Sagittaria latifolia

Herbs, perennial , to 45 cm; rhizomes absent; stolons present; corms present. Leaves emersed ; petiole triangular, erect to ascending , 6.5--51 cm; blade sagittate , rarely hastate, 1.5--30.5 ´ 2--17 cm, basal lobes equal to or less than remainder of blade. Inflorescences racemes , rarely panicles, of 3--9 whorls, emersed, 4.5--28.5 ´ 4--23 cm; peduncles 10--59 cm; bracts connate more than or equal to ¼ total length, elliptic to lanceolate, 3--8 mm, delicate, not papillose ; fruiting pedicels spreading , cylindric , 0.5--3.5 cm. Flowers to 4 cm diam.; sepals recurved to spreading, not enclosing flower or fruiting head ; filaments cylindric, longer than anthers , glabrous ; pistillate pedicellate , without ring of sterile stamens. Fruiting heads 1--1.7 cm diam; achenes oblanceoloid, without abaxial keel, 2.5--3.5 ´ to 2 mm, beaked ; faces not tuberculate , wings absent, glands (0--) 1(--2) ; beak lateral , horizontal, 1--2 mm. 2n = 22. [source]

Sagittaria latifolia has been divided into numerous species and varieties. It was divided into two varieties, based upon the presence of pubescence over the entire vegetative plant (C. Bogin 1955; K . Rataj 1972). We have examined numerous specimens and found that many from the southeastern United States are pubescent ; we believe that this character alone is insufficient for recognition of the varieties. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: May, June, July, August, September, October. • Flower Color: near white, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: to 24" tall.

Habitat

Wet ditches, pools , and margins of streams and lakes ; 0--1500 m (Ref. 102873).

Arrowheads are found in shallow water around the edges of swamps and marshes throughout much of North America.

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,018 meters (0 to 9,902 feet).[3]

Ecology: The starchy tubers that grow along their roots are relished by ducks and geese, giving them the common name "Duck Potato." Native Americans also used the tubers as a food source, grinding them into coarse flour .

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 9-12" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: 3-5 hours full sun recommended.

Moisture: Water Requirements: 0-6" water depth.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Sagitta latifolia (Willd.) Nieuwl. • Sagittaria chinensis Pursh • Sagittaria engelmanniana longirostra (Micheli) Bogin • Sagittaria esculenta T. J. Howell • Sagittaria latifolia var. latifolia Willd. • Sagittaria latifolia var. obtusa (Engelm.) Wieg. • Sagittaria latifolia var. obtusa (Muhlenberg) Wiegand • Sagittaria latifolia var. pubescens (Muhl. Ex Nutt.) J. G. Sm. • Sagittaria longirostra (Micheli) J. G. Sm. • Sagittaria obtusa Muhl. Ex Willd. • Sagittaria ornithorhyncha Small • Sagittaria planipes Fernald • Sagittaria pubescens Muhl. Ex Nutt. • Sagittaria pubescens Muhlenberg • Sagittaria sagittifolia L. fo. latifolia (Willd.) Britton • Sagittaria Sagittifolia Latifolia • Sagittaria variabilis Engelm. ex A.Gray var. latifolia (Willd.) Engelm. • Sagittaria variabilis var. obtusa Engelm. • Sagittaria viscosa C. Mohr

Notes

Publishing author : Willd. Publication : Sp. Pl., ed. 4 [Willdenow] 4(1): 409 1805

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Sagittaria

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 39 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

S. ambigua (Kansas Arrowhead) · S. australis (Appalachian Arrowhead) · S. brevirostra (Midwestern Arrowhead) · S. calycina (Hooded Arrowhead) · S. calycina var. calycina (Hooded Arrowhead) · S. calycina var. spongiosa (Spongy Arrow-Head) · S. calycina var. spongiosa Engelm. (Spongy Arrow-Head) · S. cordifolia (Creeping Burrhead) · S. cristata (Crested Arrowhead) · S. cuneata (Arrowhead) · S. engelmanniana (Acid-Water Arrowhead) · S. fasciculata (Bunched Arrowhead) · S. filiformis (Awl-Leaf Arrowhead) · S. graminea (Grass-Leaf Arrowhead) · S. graminea var. chapmanii (Chapman's Arrowhead) · S. graminea var. graminea (Grassy Arrowhead) · S. graminea var. weatherbiana (Weatherby's Arrowhead) · S. graminea weatherbiana (Grass-Leaf Arrowhead) · S. graminea 'Crushed Ice' (Crushed Ice Narrow Leafed Arrowhead) · S. guayanensis (Guyanese Arrowhead) · S. intermedia (Intermediate Arrowhead) · S. isoetiformis (Quillwort Arrowhead) · S. kurziana (Springtape) · S. lancifolia (Arrowhead) · S. lancifolia f. ruminoides (Red Stemmed Saggitaria) · S. lancifolia subsp. media (Bulltongue Arrowhead) · S. latifolia (Arrowhead) · S. longiloba (Gregg's Arrowhead) · S. montevidensis (Aztec Arrowhead) · S. papillosa (Nipplebract Arrowhead) · S. platyphylla (Delta Arrowhead) · S. pygmaea (Pygmy Arrowhead) · S. rigida (Sessile-Fruited Arrowhead) · S. sagittifolia (Arrowhead) · S. sanfordii (Sanfords Arrowhead) · S. secundifolia (Kral's Water Plantain) · S. subulata (Awl-Leaf Arrowhead) · S. teres (Quill-Leaved Sagittaria) · S. trifolia (Threeleaf Arrowhead)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 19, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Robert R. Haynes ,C. Barre Hellquist "Alismataceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 22. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Sagittaria". in Flora of North America Vol. 22. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 265.100 meters (869.751 feet), Standard Deviation = 340.170 based on 1,177 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012