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grass-leaf arrowhead, grassy arrowhead, sagittaire a feuilles de graminees

arum-leaf arrowhead, northern arrowhead, sagittaria cuneaire, tule potato, wapato

Habit Herbs, perennial, to 100 cm; rhizomes coarse; stolons absent; corms absent. Herbs, perennial, to 110 cm; rhizomes absent; stolons present; corms present.
Leaves

submersed or emersed; submersed leaves phyllodial, angled abaxially, flattened adaxially, 6.4–35 × 0.5–4 cm; emersed with petiole triangular, 6.5–17 cm, blade linear to linear-oblanceolate, 2.5–17.4 × 0.2–4 cm.

emersed, floating, and submersed; submersed phyllodial, flattened, to 45 cm; floating with petiole triangular, to 100 cm, blade cordate or sagittate, rarely linear or ovate, 7.5–9 × 3.5–4 cm; emersed with petiole recurved, 3.5–51 cm, blade linear to sagittate, 2.5–17 × 1.5–11 cm, basal lobes when present shorter than remainder of blade.

Inflorescences

racemes or panicles, of 1–12 whorls, emersed, 2.5–21 × 1–8 cm;

peduncles 6.5–29.7 cm;

bracts connate more than to equal to ¼ total length, broadly subulate to lanceolate, 20–50 mm, coarse, not papillose; fruiting pedicels spreading, cylindric, 0.5–5 cm.

racemes, rarely panicles, of 2–10 whorls, emersed, 14–21 × 2–10 cm, peduncle triangular, 10–50 cm;

bracts connate more than or equal to ¼ total length, lance-attenuate or acute, mostly (4–)7–40 mm, membranous, not papillose; fruiting pedicels ascending, cylindric, 0.5–2 cm.

Flowers

to 2.3 cm diam.;

sepals recurved to spreading, not enclosing flower;

filaments dilated, shorter than anthers, pubescent;

pistillate flowers pedicellate, without ring of sterile stamens.

to 25 mm diam.;

sepals recurved, not enclosing flower or fruiting head;

filaments not dilated, equal to or longer than anthers, glabrous;

pistillate pedicellate, without ring of sterile stamens.

Fruiting

heads 0.6–1.5 cm diam.;

achenes oblanceoloid, without abaxial keel, 1.5–2.8 × 1.1–1.5 mm, beaked;

faces not tuberculate, abaxial wings 0–1, ± entire, glands 1–2;

beak lateral, erect, 0.2 mm.

heads 0.8–1.5 cm diam.;

achenes obovoid, abaxially keeled, 1.8–2.6 × 1.3–2.5 mm, beaked;

face not tuberculate, wings 0–1, ± entire, glands 0–1;

beak apical, erect, 0.1–0.4 mm.

2n

= 22.

Sagittaria graminea

Sagittaria cuneata

Phenology Flowering late spring–summer (Jun–Sep).
Habitat Calcareous and muddy shores and shallow waters of rivers, lakes, ponds, pastures, and ditches, occasional in tidal waters, or in deep flowing water with slow current
Elevation 100–2500 m (300–8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; West Indies (Cuba)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; CT; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SD; TX; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; LB; MB; NB; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Seven varieties of Sagittaria graminea have been recognized, i.e., var. graminea, var. platyphylla Engelmann, var. teres (S. Watson) Bogin, var. weatherbiana Fernald, var. cristata (Engelmann) Bogin, var. chapmanii J. G. Smith, and var. macrocarpa (J. G. Smith) Bogin (C. Bogin 1955). We accept only one infraspecific rank, i.e., subspecies. Consequently, we have made the appropriate combinations. We accept all of the taxa accepted by Bogin at the varietal level. At specific level we accept Bogin’s var. platyphylla, var. teres, and var. cristata and at subspecific level his var. graminea, var. chapmanii, and var. weatherbiana.

Sagittaria graminea var. macrocarpa actually is synonymous with var. graminea (E. O. Beal 1960b). We therefore are following Beal in recognizing var. macrocarpa sensu Bogin as S. fasciculata. We also accept var. platyphylla, var. teres, and var. cristata at the specific level, leaving only three subspecies. These subspecies can be separated by the branching of the inflorescence and the length of pistillate pedicels.

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Sagittaria cuneata is extremely variable. On emersed plants, the leaf petioles are often bent toward the ground. Submersed plants often grow from a basal rosette with a long flexuous petiole and a floating sagittate leave. Plants in deep rivers often develop broad, straplike phyllodia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Inflorescences panicles.
subsp. chapmanii
1. Inflorescences racemes.
→ 2
2. Pistillate pedicels 0.5–3 cm; phyllodia less than 1 cm wide
subsp. graminea
2. Pistillate pedicels 2.1–5 cm; phyllodia more than 1 cm wide
subsp. weatherbiana
Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Alismataceae > Sagittaria Alismataceae > Sagittaria
Sibling taxa
S. ambigua, S. australis, S. brevirostra, S. cristata, S. cuneata, S. demersa, S. engelmanniana, S. fasciculata, S. filiformis, S. guayanensis, S. isoetiformis, S. kurziana, S. lancifolia, S. latifolia, S. longiloba, S. montevidensis, S. papillosa, S. platyphylla, S. rigida, S. sanfordii, S. secundifolia, S. subulata, S. teres
S. ambigua, S. australis, S. brevirostra, S. cristata, S. demersa, S. engelmanniana, S. fasciculata, S. filiformis, S. graminea, S. guayanensis, S. isoetiformis, S. kurziana, S. lancifolia, S. latifolia, S. longiloba, S. montevidensis, S. papillosa, S. platyphylla, S. rigida, S. sanfordii, S. secundifolia, S. subulata, S. teres
Subordinate taxa
S. graminea subsp. chapmanii, S. graminea subsp. graminea, S. graminea subsp. weatherbiana
Synonyms S. arifolia
Name authority Michaux: Flora Boreali-Americana 2: 190. (1803) E. Sheldon: Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 20:283, plate 159. (1893)
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