Sagittaria latifolia Willd, 1805
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
The native Common Arrowhead is common in central and northern Illinois, while in the southern section of the state it is occasional or absent (see Distribution Map). Habitats include large swales in open woodlands, swamps, marshes, bogs, seeps, low-gradient edges of ponds and reservoirs, low-gradient edges of slow-moving streams and drainage canals, and deep ditches. This species is reportedly tolerant of polluted water; it can be found in both disturbed and higher quality wetlands. Faunal Associations
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Hydrology is the most important factor in determining wetland type, revegetation success, and wetland function and value. Changes in water levels influence species composition, structure, and distribution of plant communities. Water management is absolutely critical during plant establishment, and remains crucial through the life of the wetland for proper community management. Sagittaria species require moist soils to standing water for successful revegetation.
We have no record of specific traditional resource management techniques other than anecdotal information of the use of fire to keep dense tule marshes open, which provided an opportunity for colonization and spread of Sagittaria species. The harvest of arrowhead was usually made in late summer as the stems and leaves were dying (and usually when the water table was lower) (Balls 1962).
Wet ditches, pools, and margins of streams and lakes; 0--1500m.
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The preference is full or partial sun, shallow water up to 1' deep or wet conditions, and fertile soil containing some organic matter. This emergent-aquatic plant usually grows in shallow water that is stagnant or slow-moving.
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Sagittaria species may be planted from bare root stock, by transplanting the tubers, and by seeding directly into wetland soil. Live plant transplants or transplanting tubers are preferred revegetation methods where there is moving water. It takes two years for seed to germinate; planting bare root stock or tubers gives faster revegetation results.
Live Plant Collections: No more than 1/4 of the plants in an area should be collected. If no more than 0.09 m² (1 ft²)are removed from a 0.4 m2 (4 ft2) area, the plants will grow back into thehole in one good growing season. A depth of 15 cm (6 in) is sufficiently deep for digging plugs. This will leave enough plants and rhizomes to grow back during the growing season.
Wild plants should be collected after the leaves begin to emerge in the spring until the first frost. The plants can be pulled up easily from wet soil. When collecting wild plants, rinse roots gently. Leaves and stems can be clipped from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches); this allows the plant to allocate more energy into root production. The roots should always remain moist or in water until planted. Plants should be transported and stored in a cool location prior to planting. Water depth should be 0 to 6" and the soils should be wet.
Sagittaria grows prolifically around ponds or wetlands in shallow water. Plug spacing of 25-30 cm will fill in within one growing season. Soil should be kept saturated, with approximately 1/2" of water over the surface of the soil after planting. If water is low in nutrients (oligotrophic), fertilization will speed biomass production and revegetation. Many surface waters are already rich in nutrients (eutrophic), and fertilization is not necessary.
Indian potatoes transplant success may be greater with the tubers than with bare root stock. The little underground potatoes can be separated from the parent plants with a rake, hoe, or shovel. In unconsolidated soils, the tubers can be pulled up by hand by searching around the roots of the plant.
After collecting, the Sagittaria potatoes should be kept moist and cool, and stored in peat moss. Potatoes are then planted in shallow water, in the same conditions as described above for the whole plants. Potatoes should be collected and planted when plants are dormant, in the fall, winter and early spring.
Seed Germination: Seeds of Sagittaria species take two years to germinate, because they have a double dormancy requiring cold then warm then cold temperatures. Temperature has a multiple role in the regulation of timing of germination. Dormant seeds become non-dormant only at specific temperatures, non-dormant seeds have specific temperature requirements for germination, and non-dormant seeds of some species are induced into dormancy by certain temperatures. Once Sagittaria seeds germinate, they have fairly high viability. Procedures for growing Sagittaria seeds in the greenhouse have not been developed at this time.
Sagittaria seeds can be planted directly in wetlands or ponds. Prepare the area by creating a washboard in shallow water, at mudflat consistency. Seeds should then be scattered on the surface of the soil, as the seeds need sunlight to germinate well. Light and temperature in natural conditions will promote seed germination, and in two years Sagittaria plants will emerge.
Ethnobotanic: Sagittaria is an aquatic plant with tuberous roots that can be eaten like potatoes. Lewis and Clark found it at the mouth of the Willamette and considered it equal to the potato, and valuable for trade. Indian women collected it in shallow water from a canoe, or waded into ponds or marshes in the late summer and loosened the roots with their toes. The roots would rise to the top of the water where they were gathered and tossed into floating baskets. Today, the tubers are harvested with a hoe, pitchfork, or rake. Tubers are baked in fire embers, boiled, or roasted in the ashes. Tubers are skinned and eaten whole or mashed.
After roasting, some tubers were dried and stored for winter use. The Chippewa gathered the "Indian potatoes" in the fall, strung them, and hung them overhead in the wigwam to dry. Later they were boiled for use.
The tubers of Sagittaria species were eaten by many different indigenous groups in Canada, as well as many groups of Washington and Oregon (Kuhnlein and Turner 1991). The tubers were also widely traded from harvesting centers to neighboring areas. The tubers were also a major item of commerce on the Lower Columbia in Chinook Territory. Katzie families owned large patches of the plant and clearing the patches claimed ownership. Family groups would camp beside their claimed harvesting sites for a month or more.
A species of Sagittaria grows in China, and is sold in the markets of China and Japan as food, the corms being full of starch. Sagittaria latifolia is extensively cultivated in the San Francisco Bay area in California to supply the Chinese markets, and the tubers are commonly to be found on sale. The Chinese, on coming to California, used it for food and may have cultivated it somewhat. In so doing, they are believed to have extended its range into the southern part of the state (Mason 1957).
Medicinally, the Maidu of California used an infusion of arrowhead roots to clean and treat wounds. The Navajo use these plants for headaches. The Ojibwa and the Chippewa used Sagittaria species as a remedy for indigestion. The Cherokee used an infusion of leaves to bathe feverish babies, with one sip given orally. The Iroquois used it for rheumatism, a dermatological aid, and a laxative. The Iroquois used it as a ceremonial blessing when they began planting corn.
Wildlife: Tubers are planted as an wildlife food. Ducks eat the small, flat seeds of arrowheads, but the tubers are the most valuable to wildlife. Muskrat and porcupine are known to eat the tubers. Swans, geese, wood ducks, blue-winged teal, lesser and greater scaup, ruddy duck, ring necked duck, pintail, mallard, mottled duck, gadwall, canvasback, black duck and king rail are known to eat arrowhead seeds and tubers. For wildlife use, the tubers of Sagittaria latifolia are often too large and too deeply buried to be useful to ducks (Martin 1951).
Muskrats have evolved with wetland ecosystems and form a valuable component of healthy functioning wetland communities. Muskrats use emergent wetland vegetation such as Sagittaria species for food. Muskrat grazed areas increase wetland diversity by opening up the dense stands of Typha and Schoenoplectus (Scirpus) species, and providing opportunities for aquatic vegetation such as Sagittaria to become established in the open water. Muskrat huts provide a substrate for shrubs and other plant species. Indian people often sought caches of Sagittaria tubers stored by muskrat and beaver.
This perennial plant is emergent-aquatic and 1-3' tall, consisting of a rosette of basal leaves and one or more flowering stalks. Mature leaves are 4-14" long and 3-10" across; they are sagittate or hastate in shape and smooth along their margins. The leaves have conspicuous primary veins and smaller lateral veins; their venation is palmate-parallel overall. There is considerable variability in the width of the leaves and the length of their basal lobes across different populations. However, the basal lobes are at least as long as the main bodies (or terminal lobes) of the leaves. The upper leaf surface is pale green, medium green, or yellowish green, while the lower leaf surface is pale green or yellowish green. Both sides of the leaves are glabrous. The ascending petioles of the leaves are 6-18" long and rather stout; they broaden toward the base and become sheath-like. Each petiole is flat on one side, otherwise it is rounded (convex). The flowering stalks (including both peduncles & floral rachises) are about as tall as the leaves or slightly taller and ascending to erect; they are angular or terete. These stalks are either branched or unbranched; sometimes 1-2 lateral branches are produced below the rachis of the terminal stalk. Each branch of the inflorescence terminates in a raceme of whorled flowers; there are 2-3 flowers per whorl. The terminal raceme typically has 3-9 whorls of flowers, while the lateral racemes (if present) have 2-5 whorls of flowers. The whorls of flowers are spaced about 1-2" apart along each raceme. Most plants are monoecious; the male (staminate) flowers are located above the female (pistillate) flowers in each raceme. Occasionally, dioecious plants occur, and sometimes perfect flowers are produced. Underneath each whorl of flowers, there are 2-3 floral bracts that join together at the base. These floral bracts are up to ½" long, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate in shape, green, and glabrous. Each flower is about 1" across, consisting of 3 white rounded petals and 3 green ovate sepals. The male flowers have numerous stamens that are yellow, while the female flowers have clustered carpels that are green and form a small bur-like mass. The filaments of the stamens are hairless. The spreading to ascending pedicels of the flowers are up to 1" long; they are green and glabrous. The blooming period occurs from mid-summer to early fall, lasting about 1-3 months for a colony of plants. Afterwards, the female flowers are replaced by bur-like fruits that are up to ¾" across at maturity, changing in color from green to dark brown as they mature. These fruits are are globoid to subgloboid (globoid, but slightly flattened) in shape, consisting of a dense cluster of achenes. Because of the lateral beaks of the achenes, these bur-like fruits appear more streaked than prickly. The sepals of these fruits are widely spreading to recurved; they slowly wither away. Individual achenes are 2.0-3.0 mm. long, 1.5-2.0 across, and flattened-obovoid or flattened-obdeltoid in shape; some of their margins are membranous and winged. Each achene has a more or less straight beak about 1.0-1.5 mm. in length that projects laterally from its upper side. The root system consists of a tuft of coarse fibrous roots and long spreading stolons, from which starchy tubers are occasionally produced. This plant reproduces by reseeding itself or by forming clonal plants from the tuberous stolons. Colonies of plants sometimes develop at favorable sites.
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| Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/cm_arrowhead.htm |
Sagittaria latifolia (Common Arrowhead)
(On pistillate flowers, all insects suck nectar; on staminate flowers, bees suck nectar or collect pollen, while other insects suck nectar primarily; observations are from Robertson)
On staminate flowers:
Bees (long-tongued)
Apidae (Apinae): Apis mellifera sn; Apidae (Bombini): Bombus pensylvanica sn cp fq; Anthophoridae (Ceratinini): Ceratina dupla dupla sn; Megachilidae (Megachilini): Megachile brevis sn cp
Bees (short-tongued)
Halictidae (Halictinae): Agapostemon virescens sn, Augochlorella striata sn cp, Halictus ligatus sn, Lasioglossum imitatus sn, Lasioglossum nelumbonis sn, Lasioglossum pectoralis sn cp, Lasioglossum pilosus pilosus sn cp, Lasioglossum versatus sn fq
Wasps
Sphecidae (Bembicinae): Pseudoplisus phaleratus sn; Sphecidae (Larrinae): Tachytes aurulenta sn; Sapygidae: Sapyga interrupta sn; Tiphiidae: Myzinum quinquecincta sn; Vespidae (Eumeninae): Euodynerus annulatus sn, Leionotus ziziae (Rb, MS), Stenodynerus anormis sn
Flies
Syrphidae: Eristalis arbustorum sn, Orthonevra nitida fp, Rhingia nasica sn, Syritta pipiens sn, Toxomerus marginatus sn; Empidae: Empis clausa sn; Bombyliidae: Sparnopolius confusus sn; Tachinidae: Archytas analis sn, Clausicella geniculata sn, Deopalpus hirsutus sn; Calliphoridae: Lucilia sericata sn; Muscidae: Limnophora narona sn
Butterflies
Nymphalidae: Chlosyne nycteis sn, Phyciodes tharos sn; Lycaenidae: Lycaena hyllus sn
Skippers
Hesperiidae: Ancyloxypha numitor sn, Polites themistocles sn
Moths
Ctenuchidae: Cisseps fulvicollis sn
Beetles
Cantharidae: Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus sn; Chrysomelidae: Diabrotica undecimpunctata sn; Coccinellidae: Coleomegilla maculata fp icp
On pistillate flowers:
Bees (long-tongued)
Apidae (Apinae): Apis mellifera sn; Apidae (Bombini): Bombus pensylvanica sn fq
Bees (short-tongued)
Halictidae (Halictinae): Agapostemon virescens sn, Augochlorella striata sn, Augochloropsis metallica metallica sn, Lasioglossum pectoralis sn, Lasioglossum pilosus pilosus sn
Wasps
Sphecidae (Sphecinae): Prionyx atrata sn; Philanthidae: Cerceris compacta sn; Sapygidae: Sapyga interrupta sn; Tiphiidae: Myzinum quinquecincta sn; Vespidae: Polistes fuscata sn; Vespidae (Eumeninae): Euodynerus annulatus sn
Flies
Syrphidae: Eristalis arbustorum sn, Syritta pipiens sn; Tachinidae: Archytas analis sn, Copecrypta ruficauda sn, Spallanzania hesperidarum sn; Calliphoridae: Lucilia illustris sn; Sarcophagidae: Helicobia rapax sn, Sarcophaga sinuata sn
Butterflies
Nymphalidae: Phyciodes tharos sn; Pieridae: Colias philodice sn
Skippers
Hesperiidae: Ancyloxypha numitor sn
Moths
Ctenuchidae: Cisseps fulvicollis sn
Beetles
Cantharidae: Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus sn
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| Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002-2015 by Dr. John Hilty |
| Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/flower_insects//plants/cm_arrowhead.htm |
 |
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (March 2013) |
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 414 kJ (99 kcal) |
|
20.23 g
|
|
|
0.29 g
|
|
|
5.33 g
|
|
| Vitamins | |
| Thiamine (B1) |
(15%)
0.17 mg |
| Riboflavin (B2) |
(6%)
0.073 mg |
| Niacin (B3) |
(11%)
1.65 mg |
|
(12%)
0.599 mg |
|
| Vitamin B6 |
(20%)
0.26 mg |
| Folate (B9) |
(4%)
14 μg |
| Vitamin C |
(1%)
1.1 mg |
| Trace metals | |
| Calcium |
(1%)
10 mg |
| Iron |
(20%)
2.57 mg |
| Magnesium |
(14%)
51 mg |
| Manganese |
(17%)
0.36 mg |
| Phosphorus |
(25%)
174 mg |
| Potassium |
(20%)
922 mg |
| Sodium |
(1%)
22 mg |
| Zinc |
(3%)
0.28 mg |
|
|
|
|
|
| Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
|
Sagittaria latifolia is a plant found in shallow wetlands and is sometimes known as broadleaf arrowhead, duck-potato,[2] Indian potato, or wapato. This plant produces edible tubers that were extensively used by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.[1]
Description[edit]
Sagittaria latifolia is a variably sized (2 to 20 meters in length) perennial growing in colonies that can cover large amounts of ground. The roots are white and thin, producing white tubers covered with a purplish skin a good distance (0.3 to 1 m long, 0.15 to 0.6 meter deep) from the mother plant. It is green and white. The plant produces rosette of leaves and an inflorescence on a long rigid scape. The leaves are extremely variable, from very thin at 1 to 2 cm to wedge shaped like those of Sagittaria cuneata. Spongy and solid, the leaves have parallel venation meeting in the middle and the extremities. The inflorescence is a raceme composed of large flowers whorled by threes. Usually divided into female flowers on the lower part and male on the upper, although dioecious individuals are also found. Three round, white petals and three very short curved, dark green sepals. Male flowers are easily distinguished from female due to the dissimilarity between the 25 to 50 yellow stamens of the male and the sphere of green carpels of the female ones.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
The name of Shubenacadie, a community located in central Nova Scotia, Canada, means "abounding in ground nuts" (i.e., broadleaf arrowhead) in the Mi'kmaq language.
Distribution[edit]
Sagittaria latifolia is native to southern Canada and most of the contiguous United States, as well as Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Cuba. It is also naturalized in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Bhutan, Australia and much of Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Romania, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and European Russia. It is considered an invasive weed in some of those places.[11] In Mexico, it is reported from Campeche, Nayarit, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Puebla, Jalisco, Durango, Tlaxcala, Estado de México, Veracruz and Michoacán.[12]
Ecology[edit]
Extremely frequent as an emergent plant, broadleaf arrowhead forms dense colonies on very wet soils that become more open as the species mixes with other species of deeper water levels. These colonies forms long bands following the curves of rivers, ponds and lakes, well marked by the dark green color of the leaves. The plant has strong roots and can survive through wide variations of the water level, slow currents and waves. It displays an affinity for high levels of phosphates and hard waters.
Despite the name Duck Potato, ducks rarely consume the tubers, which are usually buried too deep for them to reach, although they often eat the seeds. Beavers, North American Porcupines, and Muskrats, however, eat the whole plant, tubers included.
Cultivation[edit]
Easily cultivated in 0.15 m to 0.45 m of water with no or little current. Plant tubers well spaced (no more than 12 plants per square meter) at the end of May at a depth of 5 to 7 cm. Fertilize with decomposed manure. Multiply through seeding or division in July. The tubers of Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria cuneata have long been an important food source to indigenous peoples of the Americas. The tubers can be detached from the ground in various ways: with the feet, a pitchfork, or a stick, and usually then float to the surface. Ripe tubers can be collected in the fall and are often found floating freely.[13]
These tubers can be eaten raw or cooked for 15 to 20 minutes. The taste is similar to potatoes and chestnuts, and they can be prepared in the same fashions: roasting, frying, boiling, and so on. They can also be sliced and dried to prepare a flour.[14]
Other edible parts include late summer buds and fruits.
It is vulnerable to aphids and spider mites.
References[edit]
- ^ a b Justice, William S.; Bell, C. Ritchie; Lindsey, Anne H. (2005). Wild Flowers of North Carolina (2. printing. ed.). Chapel Hill, NC: Univ. of North Carolina Press. p. 255. ISBN 0807855979.
- ^ "BSBI List 2007" (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City.
- ^ Godfrey, R. K. & J. W. Wooten. 1979. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States Monocotyledons 1–712. The University of Georgia Press, Athens.
- ^ Haynes, R. R. 1993. Alismataceae. 13: 7–20. In R. McVaugh (ed.) Flora Novo-Galiciana. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
- ^ Hickman, J. C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1–1400. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- ^ Long, R. W. & O. K. Lakela. 1971. Flora of Tropical Florida i–xvii, 1–962. University of Miami Press, Coral Cables.
- ^ Moss, E. H. 1983. Flora of Alberta (ed. 2) i–xii, 1–687. University of Toronto Press, Toronto.
- ^ Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles & C. R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas i–lxi, 1–1183. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
- ^ Voss, E. G. 1972. Gymnosperms and Monocots. i–xv, 1–488. In Michigan Flora. Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
- ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Sagittaria latifolia
- ^ Zepeda Gómez, Carmen, Lot, Antonio. Distribución y uso tradicional de Sagittaria macrophylla Zucc. y S. latifolia Willd. en el Estado de MéxicoCiencia Ergo Sum [online] 2005, 12 (noviembre-febrero) : [Date of reference: 18 / abril / 2014] Available in:<http://redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=10412308> ISSN 1405-0269
- ^ "58518-1". IPNI. 2004-07-14. Retrieved 2007-07-21. Alismataceae Sagittaria latifolia Willd. Sp. Pl. iv. 409.
- ^ "Sagittaria latifolia - Willd. Duck Potato". Edible and medicinal plant database. Plants For A Future. June 2004. Retrieved 2007-07-20. Excellent when roasted, the texture is somewhat like potatoes with a taste like sweet chestnuts
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General: Arrowhead Family (Alismataceae). Both Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria cuneata are aquatic plants growing in swampy ground or standing water in ponds, lakes, stream edges, and ditches (Hickman 1993). Both species have white or bluish tubers, which are edible. The leaves are sagittate, with leaf blades are either erect or floating on the surface of the water. S. cuneata leaf blades are smaller, from 5-15 cm, and the lower lobes of emergent leaf blades are less than the terminal lobe. In S. latifolia, leaf blades are from 6-30 cm, and the lower lobes of the emergent leaf blade are approximately equal to the terminal lobe. The inflorescence is simple or branching, often with the lower flowers pistillate and the upper ones staminate. The flowers are white, with three white petals and 3 sepals. Stamens are numerous and bright yellow. The pistils are numerous, spirally arranged on the receptacle. The fruit is an achene and is greenish colored. A diagnostic feature distinguishing the two species is the beak on the fruit of S. cuneata is ascending to erect and <0.5 mm; the beak on the fruit of S. latifolia is spreading and 1-2 mm.