Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Family: Alistamaceae
Genus: sagittaria
Species :Sagittaria latifolia
Distribution
Arrowhead is found in wetland areas in the eastern two-thirds of the country.
Growth Habit
Sagittaria latifolia is common in freshwater tidal marshes and swamps, especially in the intertidal zone. It’s frequently seen with arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), and, to a lesser extent, bultonge (Sagitteria falcata), but it’s not as common as arrow arum or pickerelweed.
Characteristics
1. Arrowhead is a fleshy emergent that can reach a height of 45 to 90 cm (1.5 to 3.0 feet).
2. The leaf blades of this species vary in size from broad (as shown) to very narrow and strap-like. Whether broad (up to 35 cm) or thin (up to 15 cm), blades usually have the arrowhead shape (8 cm or less).
3. The leaf petiole and flower stalk (scape) emerge from the substrate via rhizomes. The scape is commonly found with leaf clusters, but it is not dependent on them.
4. The colloquial name duck potato comes from the underground tubers that are generated at the ends of rhizomes.
5. The tubers are a favorite food of waterfowl. They’re also pretty tasty for humans to eat. They are, however, difficult to locate in the muck and rarely exceed the size of a golf ball.
6. The male or staminate blooms are near the scape’s end and are dazzling white with vivid yellow centers (stamens or pistils).
7. This plant’s reproductive structure is strikingly similar to that of bultongue (S. falcata), but bultongue’s leaves are lance-shaped and lack the downward-trending lobes. Achenes, dry fruits produced by both species, are sometimes consumed by waterfowl. Bultongue, unlike arrowhead, does not produce tubers.
8. A related plant, arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), has a triangular-shaped leaf that may be mistaken for this species, however, Peltandra lacks white blooms and has different leaf veination.
9. The arrow arum has three large veins, whereas the arrowhead has thinner veins that run parallel to the blade’s basic form.
Production Density
S. latifolia produces 200 to 1000 grams of dry weight per meter2 (1-4 tonnes per acre) every year. There is no data on stem count or density in the literature.
Environmental Benefits and Values
This species’ tubers provide food for waterfowl, and the entire ecosystem is a main spawning and nursery location for anadromous fishes. In these systems, organic matter produced by vascular plants, phytoplankton, and benthic algae provides an energy source for a diverse group of creatures, many of which are commercially valuable.
Federal Delineation/Hydrophytic Factor
Sagittaria latifolia is designated as an obligatory wetland plant in the Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands and the National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands.OBLs are plants that nearly always grow in wetlands (with a likelihood of greater than 99 percent).
1. The Bunched Arrowhead, also known as Sagittaria fasciculate, is a tiny emergent aquatic phototrophic angiosperm that grows to be between six and thirteen inches tall.
2. The Bunched Arrowhead has a perpetual life cycle and sexual reproduction. Although germination dates are uncertain, leafing and budding take place in March and April.
3. Pollen dispersal processes are unknown, however, seed dispersal is accomplished by animals and water. Its leaves are linked to the plant’s base and are on average twelve inches long and two cm wide. Endangered in the United States From the base of the plant, the blooming stalk rises straight up.
4. Bunched Arrowhead is monoecious, meaning the stock’s upper flowers are male and the lower flowers are female. In spirals of two to three along the stalk, each male and female flower climbs upward on its stem from the main stalk. In May and June, the plant blooms, and in June and July, it bears fruit.
5. Males have three reflexed sepals, three white petals 0.2-0.7 inches long, and numerous stamens with hairy, dilated filaments; females have three spreading or reflexed sepals, three white petals 0.2-0.7 inches long, and numerous distinct carpels.
6. The Bunched Arrowhead is the only Sagittaria species in the Southern Appalachians having non-sagittate leaves, according to J.W. Wooten’s Taxonomy of seven species of Sagittaria from Eastern North America. This means that the bunched arrowhead’s leaves aren’t formed like an arrowhead.
7. Submergent and winter rosette leaves are both linear in form. (Beal) Because the Sagittaria fasciculate has little crossability with Sagittaria graminea variants, Wooten hypothesizes that the bunched arrowhead separated genetically from other Sagittaria graminea species during a period of protracted geographic isolation.
8. A plant that formerly grew in abundance across the southeast has been reduced to only seven populations in North and South Carolina. The population of North Carolina is found in Henderson County, near East Flat Rock. Bent Fork Creek is the last of many locations in North Carolina where this fragile plant might find sanctuary.
9. The Bunched Arrowhead was once found at various historical preservation sites around North Carolina, but it has since vanished due to development and pollution.
10. These populations are all located within a few miles of Furman University campus, outside the town of Traveler’s Rest. The Tyger and Enoree rivers provide the combination of fresh water and mild current in which the Bunched Arrowhead thrives. (Gaynor) However, similar to North Carolina, the number of plants found in South Carolina is diminishing owing to a variety of factors including development, pollution, water flow changes, exotic weeds, and “the plant’s inherently limited range and small size.”
TOP QUESTIONS
Question: What is the Scientific name of Arrowhead Duck Potato?
ANS: Sagittaria latifolia
Question: Name the family of Arrowhead Duck Potato Plant?
ANS: Alistamaceae
Question: Where is Arrowhead Duck Potato Plant Found?
ANS: Sagittaria latifolia is common in freshwater tidal marshes and swamps, especially in the intertidal zone.