''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''

Flora of North America The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America, including the United States, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Greenla ...

'' species of

aquatic plant Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and Non-vascular plant, non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic ecosystem, aquatic environments (marine ecosystem, saltwater or freshwater ecosystem, freshwater ...

s whose members are referred to by the Native American word wapato () and a variety of other common names, including arrowhead, duck potato, swamp potato, tule potato, and katniss. Most are native to

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, Central, and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, but there are also some from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Description

''Sagittaria'' plant stock (the

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

) is a horizontal creeper (

stolon In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...

iferous). The leaf grows up to tall, with a shape resembling an

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...

. Between July and September, a single stalk bears groups of three white flowers with three petals each. It is obliquely obovate, the margins winged, with an apical or ventral beak; in other words, they are a small, dry, one-seeded fruit that do not open to release the seed, set on a slant, narrower at the base, with winged edges, and having a "beaked" aperture (one side longer than the other) for sprouting, set above or below the fruit body.

Taxonomy

Species

accepted species include: # ''

Sagittaria aginashii ''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''

Sagittaria ambigua'' J.G.Sm. – Missouri Arrowhead – from Oklahoma to Indiana # ''

Sagittaria australis ''Sagittaria australis'', the Appalachian arrowhead or longbeak arrowhead, is a plant found in North America. It is a perennial herb up to tall. It is an unusual ''Sagittaria'' species in that it has a five-winged petiole. The flowers are up to ...

'' (J.G.Sm.) Small – Appalachian Arrowhead – southeastern US from Louisiana to Florida and as far north as Iowa and New Jersey # ''

Sagittaria brevirostra ''Sagittaria brevirostra'', common name Midwestern arrowhead or shortbeak arrowhead, is an aquatic plant species native to North America. It is a perennial herb growing up to tall, with arrow-shaped leaves and white flowers. It is common in wet ...

'' Mack. & Bush – Shortbeak Arrowhead – central US (Great Plains, Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, Great Lakes); also Virginia and Saskatchewan; naturalized in California # ''

Sagittaria calycina ''Sagittaria montevidensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the water-plantain family Alismataceae. Common names include giant arrowhead and California arrowhead. Description ''Sagittaria montevidensis'' is a robust, stemless, rhizomatous ...

'' Engelm. – Central & S. U.S.A. to N. Mexico. # ''

Sagittaria chapmanii ''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''

Sagittaria cristata'' Engelm – Crested arrowhead – Great Lakes region # ''

Sagittaria cuneata ''Sagittaria cuneata'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the water plantain family known by the common name arumleaf arrowhead or duck potato. Like some other ''Sagittaria'' species, it may be called wapato. Description ''Sagi ...

'' E.P.Sheld. – Wapato, Northern Arrowhead, Swamp Potato – most of Canada including Yukon and Northwest Territories; Alaska; western and northeastern US # '' Sagittaria demersa'' J.G.Sm. – Chihuahuan arrowhead – New Mexico, northeastern Mexico # ''

Sagittaria engelmanniana ''Sagittaria engelmanniana'' (Engelmann's arrowhead or acid-water arrowhead) is a perennial aquatic plant growing up to tall. The leaves are sagittate (arrow-shaped) with 3 very narrow lobes. The species is native to eastern North America. It h ...

'' J.G.Sm. – Engelmann's arrowhead – eastern US from Mississippi to Vermont # '' Sagittaria fasciculata'' E.O.Beal – Bunched Arrowhead – North and South Carolina # ''

Sagittaria filiformis ''Sagittaria filiformis'', the threadleaf arrowhead, is a perennial aquatic plant growing up to tall. Some leaves are thread-like, entirely underwater, but others are narrowly ovate or lanceolate and floating on the surface. The species is nati ...

'' J.G.Sm. – Threadleaf Arrowhead – eastern US from Alabama to Maine # ''

Sagittaria graminea ''Sagittaria graminea'', the grassy arrowhead or grass-leaved arrowhead, is an aquatic plant species native to eastern North America. Description It is a perennial herb up to tall with narrow, grass-like leaves about in length and wide. A ver ...

'' Michx. – Grassy Arrowhead, Grass-leaved Arrowhead – Cuba; much of eastern and central US; eastern Canada; naturalized in Washington State and in Vietnam # '' Sagittaria guayanensis'' Kunth – Guyanese Arrowhead – widespread across Latin America, the West Indies, China, India, Southeast Asia; introduced into Louisiana # ''

Sagittaria intermedia ''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''Flora of Nort ...

'' Micheli in A.L.P.P.de Candolle & A.C.P.de Candolle – Greater Antilles, Colombia, southern Mexico # '' Sagittaria isoetiformis'' J.G.Sm. – Quillwort Arrowhead – Cuba, from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Carolinas # '' Sagittaria kurziana'' Glück – Springtape or Strap-leaf Sagittaria – Florida; naturalized in Mariana Islands # '' Sagittaria lancifolia'' L. – Bulltongue Arrowhead – southeastern US from Texas to Delaware; West Indies; Latin America from southern Mexico to Brazil # ''

Sagittaria latifolia ''Sagittaria latifolia'' is a plant found in shallow wetlands and is sometimes known as broadleaf arrowhead, duck-potato, Indian potato, or wapato. This plant produces edible tubers that have traditionally been extensively used by Native Ameri ...

'' Willd. – Duck-potato, Broad-leaved Arrowhead, Wapato – widespread across most of North America, the West Indies and northern South America; naturalized in Hawaii, the western Himalayas and parts of Europe # '' Sagittaria lichuanensis'' J.K.Chen, X.Z.Sun & H.Q.Wang – southern China # '' Sagittaria longiloba'' Engelm. ex J.G. Sm. – Longbarb Arrowhead – southern Great Plains, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela # '' Sagittaria × lunata'' C.D.Preston & Uotila – Sweden, Finland, northern Russia ''(S. natans × S. sagittifolia)'' # '' Sagittaria macrocarpa'' J.G.Sm. – Large-fruited Arrowhead – North and South Carolina # '' Sagittaria macrophylla'' Zucc. – Papa de agua – Mexico # '' Sagittaria montevidensis'' Cham. &

Schltdl. Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle an der Saale, Halle) was a German botanist. Life and work Von Schlechtendal was born in Xanten, Xanten am Rhein and when his father Diederich Fried ...

– California Arrowhead – widespread across much of US, Mexico and South America # '' Sagittaria natans'' Pall. – widespread across northern Europe and Asia from Sweden to Kamchatka; Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Japan, Korea # '' Sagittaria papillosa''

Buchenau Franz Georg Philipp Buchenau (12 January 1831 – 23 April 1906) was a German botanist and phytogeography, phytogeographer who was a native of Kassel. He specialized in flora of northwestern Germany. He studied at the Universities of University ...

– Nipplebract Arrowhead – Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma # '' Sagittaria planitiana'' G.Agostini – Brazil, Venezuela # '' Sagittaria platyphylla'' (Engelm.) J.G.Sm. – Delta Arrowhead, Delta Duck-potato – south-central US with scattered populations in southeast, the Ohio Valley and Washington State; also Mexico and Panama; naturalized in South Australia, Italy, Java, Caucasus # '' Sagittaria potamogetifolia'' Merr. – southern China # '' Sagittaria pygmaea'' Miq. – Pygmy arrowhead – China, Japan, Korea, Himalayas, Thailand, Vietnam # '' Sagittaria rhombifolia'' Cham. – Costa Rica; widespread across much of South America # '' Sagittaria rigida'' Pursh. – Canadian Arrowhead – Canada from Quebec to Saskatchewan; common in northeastern and north-central US from Arkansas and Nebraska east to Virginia and New England; scattered populations in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State; naturalised in Great Britain # ''

Sagittaria sagittifolia ''Sagittaria sagittifolia'' (also called arrowhead because of the shape of its leaves) is an Old World flowering plant in the family Alismataceae. Description ''Sagittaria sagittifolia'' is a herbaceous perennial plant, growing in water from ...

'' L. – Arrowhead – widespread across most of Europe; Siberia, Caucasus, Turkey # '' Sagittaria sanfordii'' Greene – Valley Arrowhead – endemic to California # '' Sagittaria secundifolia'' Kral – Little River Arrowhead – Georgia and Alabama # '' Sagittaria siamaginashi'' Shiga & K.Itoh – Myanmar to Thailand # '' Sagittaria spatulata'' (J.G.Sm.) Buchenau - New Brunswick to Maryland. # '' Sagittaria sprucei'' Micheli in A.L.P.P.de Candolle & A.C.P.de Candolle – Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, northern Brazil # '' Sagittaria subulata'' L. Buchenau – Narrow-leaved Arrowhead – eastern US from Louisiana to Massachusetts; naturalized in Great Britain, Azores and Java # '' Sagittaria tengtsungensis'' H.Li – Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Yunnan # '' Sagittaria teres'' S.Watson – Slender Arrowhead – northeastern US # '' Sagittaria trifolia'' L. – Threeleaf Arrowhead – widespread across much of Asia including Siberia, China, Japan, India, Iran, Indonesia, Philippines, etc.; also Ukraine and European Russia; naturalized in Fiji and Polynesia # '' Sagittaria weatherbiana'' Fernald –Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

Deprecated

* '' Echinodorus palaefolius'' (Nees & Mart.) J.F.Macbr. (as ''S. palaefolia'' Nees & Mart.) * '' Limnophyton obtusifolium'' (L.) Miq. (as ''S. obtusifolia'' L.) * '' Wiesneria triandra'' (Dalzell) Micheli (as ''S. triandra'' Dalzell)

Etymology

The genus comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''sagittārius'', meaning 'pertaining to arrows', owing to the leaf shape of many species.

Uses

Many species have edible roots, prized for millennia as a reliable source of starch and carbohydrates, even during the winter. Some are edible raw, though are less bitter when cooked. They can be harvested by hand or by treading the mud in late fall or early spring, causing light

root tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

s to float to the surface. The plants are easy to propagate by replanting the roots. Native American peoples such as the Algonquian,

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

, and Winnebago use the tubers for food, prepared by boiling or roasting. They were also planted and eaten in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

In culture

Other names are ''Pshitola'' (Dakota), ''Si"'' ( Omaha-Ponca), ''Si-poro'' (Winnebago) and ''Kirit'' (Pawnee), 'cricket' (from the likeness of the tuber to the form of a cricket); known also as ''kits-hat'', 'standing in water', the tuber being termed ''kirit''. ''Sagittaria'' is mentioned in the Omaha myths "Ishtinike and the Four Creators" and "How the Big Turtle Went to War". In 1749, Peter Kalm mentioned ''Sagittaria'' as a food plant among the Algonquian peoples: American explorers

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

used arrowhead tubers to survive the winter of 1805–1806. Katniss Everdeen of the ''Hunger Games'' franchise was named after ''Sagittaria.''

References

External links

Plants for a Future

Identification and edible parts of ''Sagittaria''. {{Authority control Alismataceae genera Edible plants Freshwater plants Root vegetables Tubers Plants used in Native American cuisine Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus