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Sagittaria latifolia

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

bulltongue, bulltongue arrowhead, scythefruit arrowhead

Habit Herbs, perennial, to 45 cm; rhizomes absent; stolons present; corms present. Herbs, perennial, to 2 m; rhizomes coarse; stolons absent; corms absent.
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.

emersed;

petiole terete, 44–58 cm;

blade linear to ovate or elliptic, 20.3–35 × 0.7–16 cm.

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 or panicles, of 6–13 whorls, emersed, 16–72 × 19–60 cm;

peduncles 75–125.5 cm;

bracts connate more than or equal to ¼ total length, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 3–32 mm, coarse, papillose or not; fruiting pedicels spreading, cylindric, 0.6–3.8 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 3.3 cm diam.;

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

filaments cylindric, longer than anthers, pubescent; 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 0.5–1.2 cm diam.;

achenes oblanceoloid, abaxially keeled, 1.6–2.5 × 0.8–1.1 mm, beaked;

faces not tuberculate, wings absent, glands 1;

beak lateral, erect, 0.3–0.7 mm.

2n

= 22.

Sagittaria latifolia

Sagittaria lancifolia

Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Wet ditches, pools, and margins of streams and lakes
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 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; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies
[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.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Bracts and sepals striate to ribbed; leaves linear to ovate
subsp. lancifolia
1. Bracts and sepals papillose; leaves lanceolate to broadly ovate
subsp. media
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. filiformis, S. graminea, S. guayanensis, S. isoetiformis, S. kurziana, S. latifolia, S. longiloba, S. montevidensis, S. papillosa, S. platyphylla, S. rigida, S. sanfordii, S. secundifolia, S. subulata, S. teres
Subordinate taxa
S. lancifolia subsp. lancifolia, S. lancifolia subsp. media
Synonyms S. latifolia var. obtusa, S. latifolia var. pubescens, S. ornithorhyncha, S. planipes, S. pubescens, S. viscosa
Name authority Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 4(1): 409. (1805) Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10 2: 1270. (1759)
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