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Sagittaria latifolia Willd.
Arrowhead, broad-leaved arrowhead, broadleaf arrowhead, duck potato, Indian potato, wapato
Broadleaf arrowhead is a North American native. It is named for its arrowhead-shaped leaves.
Plants: 8–39″ (20–100 cm) in height, growing in colonies.
Leaves: The arrowhead-shaped leaves
are up to 1′ (40 cm) long and 10″ (25 cm) across, supported on stems (petioles) up to 2′ (60 cm) long. The petioles become thicker at the base.
Flowers: ¾–1½″ (2–4 cm) across, white, with yellow
centers and three petals, and three short curved dark green sepals.
There are 2-3 flowers per flowering stalk.
Male flowers have 25-50 yellow stamens, while female flowers have a spherelike
set of green carpels. Flowers appear from July to September.
Fruits: A head of beaked seeds, that eventually turns dark brown.
Habitats: Shallow wetlands and
river banks, marshes, swamps bogs, and farm ponds.
Edibility: The long runners these plants use to spread themselves
form 1–2″ (2.5–5 cm) potato-like tubers at the ends. Dislodge them from the bottom with a hoe or rake so they
float to the surface, gather the tubers, and cook them like potatoes. They are said to be delicious. [From the Peterson field guide listed
below.] They were an important food source for Native Americans, although now they are classed
as a nuisance in many areas.
Sagittaria chinensis Pursh Sagittaria engelmanniana J.G. Sm. ssp. longirostra (Micheli) Bogin Sagittaria esculenta Howell Sagittaria latifolia Willd. var. obtusa (Muhl. ex Willd.) Wiegand Sagittaria latifolia Willd. var. pubescens (Muhl. ex Nutt.) J.G. Sm. Sagittaria longirostra (Micheli) J.G. Sm. Sagittaria obtusa Muhl. ex Willd.， non Thunb. Sagittaria ornithorhyncha Small Sagittaria planipes Fernald Sagittaria pubescens Muhl. ex Nutt. Sagittaria variabilis Engelm. var. obtusa (Muhl. ex Willd.) Engelm. Sagittaria viscosa C. Mohr
9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm)
7/20/2024 · Florida Lake, Freeport, Maine
7/20/2024 · Florida Lake, Freeport, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 3½″ (14 × 9.4 cm)
