Arrowhead
(Sagittaria latifolia)
Native
Arrowhead has large arrow–like leaves and white flowers.
Description
Arrowhead gets its name from its arrow-shaped leaves, which come to three distinct points. There are many varieties of arrowhead, and the size of leaves varies with each. Leaves may be anywhere from four to 14 inches long and three to ten inches across. The top part of the leaves is usually pale to medium green or even yellowish green, and the bottom part is most often pale or yellowish green. The stems of the leaves are spongy and leak a milky fluid if crushed.
Arrowhead has flowers at the end of its stalk which are typically in whorls of three and can be white to light pink in color. This perennial produces tubers under the mud and soil that ducks, geese, muskrats, and nutria love, which is where the name “duck potato” came from. Arrowhead usually grows in ankle-deep water but can be found in water up to about three feet deep. It can grow in a variety of sediments and has a broad pH tolerance.
Location
Can be found all over the United States and Southern Canada.
Propagation
Rhizomes, seeds, fragments
Management Options
Click here for more information on how to control arrowhead.