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Sagittaria latifolia

bird's-eye pearlwort, broad-leaf arrowhead, common arrowhead, duck-potato, Indian potato, sagittaire latifoliee, wapato

narrow-leaf arrowhead, threadleaf arrowhead

Habit Herbs, perennial, to 45 cm; rhizomes absent; stolons present; corms present. Herbs, perennial, to 170 cm, mostly of fresh waters, some plants stranded along shore; rhizomes absent; stolons present; corms present.
Leaves

emersed;

petiole triangular, erect to ascending, 6.5–51 cm;

blade sagittate, rarely hastate, 1.5–30.5 × 2–17 cm, basal lobes equal to or less than remainder of blade.

submersed or floating, rarely emersed; submersed phyllodial, flattened, 30–250 × 0.1–1.5 cm; floating with petiole flattened, to 40 cm, blade linear-ovate to ovate, rarely sagittate, to 3.5 × 0.5 cm; emersed with petiole 5–10 cm, blade linear-ovate to ovate, rarely hastate to sagittate, to 4 × 0.5 cm; stranded plants usually with expanded leaf blades.

Inflorescences

racemes, rarely panicles, of 3–9 whorls, emersed, 4.5–28.5 × 4–23 cm;

peduncles 10–59 cm;

bracts connate more than or equal to ¼ total length, elliptic to lanceolate, 3–8 mm, delicate, not papillose; fruiting pedicels spreading, cylindric, 0.5–3.5 cm.

racemes, rarely panicles, of 4–10 whorls, floating to slightly emersed, 15–25 × 5–15 cm;

peduncles 10–200 cm;

bracts connate more than ¼ total length, lanceolate, 110 mm, delicate, not papillose; fruiting pedicels spreading to recurved, cylindric, 1.5–4.5 cm.

Flowers

to 4 cm diam.;

sepals recurved to spreading, not enclosing flower or fruiting head;

filaments cylindric, longer than anthers, glabrous; pistillate pedicellate, without ring of sterile stamens.

to 3 cm diam.;

sepals spreading in staminate, erect in pistillate, enclosing flower or fruiting head;

filaments dilated, ± equaling anthers, glabrous; pistillate pedicellate, without ring of sterile stamens.

Fruiting

heads 1–1.7 cm diam;

achenes oblanceoloid, without abaxial keel, 2.5–3.5 × to 2 mm, beaked;

faces not tuberculate, wings absent, glands (0–)1(–2);

beak lateral, horizontal, 1–2 mm.

heads 0.7–1 cm diam.;

achenes obovoid, abaxially keeled, 5 × 2.5 mm, beaked;

faces not tuberculate, wings 0–3, ± entire, glands 0–1;

beak lateral, erect, 1 mm.

2n

= 22.

= 22.

Sagittaria latifolia

Sagittaria filiformis

Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Wet ditches, pools, and margins of streams and lakes Shallow, swift waters or deep streams in northern portion of range, ponds, lakes, drainage canals, and swamps in southern portion of range
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft) 0–100 m (0–300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; c Mexico; s Mexico; Central America (Guatemala); South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; CT; FL; GA; MA; ME; NC; NJ; NY; PA; RI; SC; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Sagittaria latifolia has been divided into numerous species and varieties. It was divided into two varieties, based upon the presence of pubescence over the entire vegetative plant (C. Bogin 1955; K. Rataj 1972). We have examined numerous specimens and found that many from the southeastern United States are pubescent; we believe that this character alone is insufficient for recognition of the varieties.

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

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. graminea, S. guayanensis, S. isoetiformis, S. kurziana, S. lancifolia, 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. cuneata, S. demersa, S. engelmanniana, S. fasciculata, 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
Synonyms S. latifolia var. obtusa, S. latifolia var. pubescens, S. ornithorhyncha, S. planipes, S. pubescens, S. viscosa S. stagnorum, S. subulata var. gracillima
Name authority Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 4(1): 409. (1805) J. G. Smith: N. Amer. Sagittaria. 20, plate 15, figs. 5–8. (1894)
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