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Sagittaria latifolia

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

delta arrowhead

Habit Herbs, perennial, to 45 cm; rhizomes absent; stolons present; corms present. Herbs, perennial, to 150 cm; 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 and emersed; submersed sessile, phyllodial, flattened, to 26 × 0.5 cm; emersed with petiole ± triangular, 21–70.5 cm, blade linear-ovate to ovate, 4.6–16.4 × 0.7–6.1 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, of 3–9 whorls, emersed, 2.5–10 × 2–4.5 cm;

peduncles 22–60 cm;

bracts connate more than ¼ total length, lanceolate, 3–5.5 mm, delicate, not papillose; fruiting pedicels spreading to recurved, cylindric, 0.5–3 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 1.8 cm diam.;

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

filaments dilated, 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 0.7–1.2 cm diam.;

achenes oblanceoloid, not abaxially keeled, 1.2–2 × 0.8–1.2 mm, beaked;

faces tuberculate, wings absent, glands absent;

beak lateral, horizontal to erect, 0.3–0.6 mm.

2n

= 22.

= 22.

Sagittaria latifolia

Sagittaria platyphylla

Phenology Flowering summer–fall. Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Wet ditches, pools, and margins of streams and lakes Streams and lakes
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft) 0–900 m (0–3000 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; AR; FL; GA; IL; KY; LA; MO; MS; OH; OK; PA; TN; TX; WV; Mexico (Nuevo León Mexico, sw Mexico); Central America (Panama)
[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.)

Sagittaria platyphylla has been accepted at the variety level, i.e., Sagittaria graminea var. platyphylla (C. Bogin 1955; J. W. Wooten 1973; E. O. Beal et al. 1982). After studying dozens of populations in the field from much of its range and hundreds of herbarium specimens, we have concluded that this taxon should be recognized at the specific level instead, a conclusion supported by cladistic analyses of morphologic characters (R. M. Kortright 1998)

(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. filiformis, S. graminea, S. guayanensis, S. isoetiformis, S. kurziana, S. lancifolia, S. latifolia, S. longiloba, S. montevidensis, S. papillosa, 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. graminea var. platyphylla, S.. mohrii
Name authority Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 4(1): 409. (1805) (Engelmann) J. G. Smith: N. Amer. Sagittaria. 29. (1894)
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