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| ## broadleaf arrowhead {#broadleaf-arrowhead .Title-Header}           |
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| *Sagittaria latifolia* Willd.                                         |
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| Plant Symbol = SALA2                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

### Alternate Names![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.2916666666666665in" height="3.4375in"}

Arrowhead, Indian potato, tule potato, wapato

##### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: *Sagittaria* is an aquatic plant with tuberous roots
that can be eaten like potatoes. Lewis and Clark found it at the mouth
of the Willamette and considered it equal to the potato, and valuable
for trade. Indian women collected it in shallow water from a canoe, or
waded into ponds or marshes in the late summer and loosened the roots
with their toes. The roots would rise to the top of the water where they
were gathered and tossed into floating baskets. Today, the tubers are
harvested with a hoe, pitchfork, or rake. Tubers are baked in fire
embers, boiled, or roasted in the ashes. Tubers are skinned and eaten
whole or mashed.

After roasting, some tubers were dried and stored for winter use. The
Chippewa gathered the \"Indian potatoes\" in the fall, strung them, and
hung them overhead in the wigwam to dry. Later they were boiled for use.

The tubers of *Sagittaria* species were eaten by many different
indigenous groups in Canada, as well as many groups of Washington and
Oregon (Kuhnlein and Turner 1991). The tubers were also widely traded
from harvesting centers to neighboring areas. The tubers were also a
major item of commerce on the Lower Columbia in Chinook Territory.
Katzie families owned large patches of the plant and clearing the
patches claimed ownership. Family groups would camp beside their claimed
harvesting sites for a month or more.

A species of *Sagittaria* grows in China, and is sold in the markets of
China and Japan as food, the corms being full of starch. *Sagittaria
latifolia* is extensively cultivated in the San Francisco Bay area in
California to supply the Chinese markets, and the tubers are commonly to
be found on sale. The Chinese, on coming to California, used it for food
and may have cultivated it somewhat. In so doing, they are believed to
have extended its range into the southern part of the state (Mason
1957).

Medicinally, the Maidu of California used an infusion of arrowhead roots
to clean and treat wounds. The Navajo use these plants for headaches.
The Ojibwa and the Chippewa used *Sagittaria* species as a remedy for
indigestion. The Cherokee used an infusion of leaves to bathe feverish
babies, with one sip given orally. The Iroquois used it for rheumatism,
a dermatological aid, and a laxative. The Iroquois used it as a
ceremonial blessing when they began planting corn.

*Wildlife*: Tubers are planted as an wildlife food. Ducks eat the small,
flat seeds of arrowheads, but the tubers are the most valuable to
wildlife. Muskrat and porcupine are known to eat the tubers. Swans,
geese, wood ducks, blue-winged teal, lesser and greater scaup, ruddy
duck, ring necked duck, pintail, mallard, mottled duck, gadwall,
canvasback, black duck and king rail are known to eat arrowhead seeds
and tubers. For wildlife use, the tubers of *Sagittaria latifolia* are
often too large and too deeply buried to be useful to ducks (Martin
1951).

Muskrats have evolved with wetland ecosystems and form a valuable
component of healthy functioning wetland communities. Muskrats use
emergent wetland vegetation such as *Sagittaria* species for food.
Muskrat grazed areas increase wetland diversity by opening up the dense
stands of *Typha* and *Schoenoplectus* (*Scirpus*) species, and
providing opportunities for aquatic vegetation such as *Sagittaria* to
become established in the open water. Muskrat huts provide a substrate
for shrubs and other plant species. Indian people often sought caches of
Sagittaria tubers stored by muskrat and beaver.

##### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator values.

##### Description

*General*: Arrowhead Family (Alismataceae). Both *Sagittaria latifolia*
and *Sagittaria cuneata* are aquatic plants growing in swampy ground or
standing water in ponds, lakes, stream edges, and ditches (Hickman
1993). Both species have white or bluish tubers, which are edible. The
leaves are sagittate, with leaf blades are either erect or floating on
the surface of the water. *S. cuneata* leaf blades are smaller, from
5-15 cm, and the lower lobes of emergent leaf blades are less than the
terminal lobe. In *S. latifolia,* leaf blades are from 6-30 cm, and the
lower lobes of the emergent leaf blade are approximately equal to the
terminal lobe. The inflorescence is simple or branching, often with the
lower flowers pistillate and the upper ones staminate. The flowers are
white, with three white petals and 3 sepals. Stamens are numerous and
bright yellow. The pistils are numerous, spirally arranged on the
receptacle. The fruit is an achene and is greenish colored. A diagnostic
feature distinguishing the two species is the beak on the fruit of *S.
cuneata* is ascending to erect and \<0.5 mm; the beak on the fruit of
*S. latifolia* is spreading and 1-2 mm.

##### Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site. *Sagittaria* species are obligate
wetland plants found in marshes and wetlands throughout temperate North
America. The ranges of *S. cuneata* and *S. latifolia* overlap. *S.
latifolia* is found from central and southern British Columbia to Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island, south to California and into South
America. In California, *S. latifolia* is confined to lower elevations
\<1500 m. *Sagittaria* species grow in ponds, slow streams, ditches and
freshwater wetlands.

##### Establishment

*Sagittaria* species may be planted from bare root stock, by
transplanting the tubers, and by seeding directly into wetland soil.
Live plant transplants or transplanting tubers are preferred
revegetation methods where there is moving water. It takes two years for
seed to germinate; planting bare root stock or tubers gives faster
revegetation results.

*Live Plant Collections*: No more than 1/4 of the plants in an area
should be collected. If no more than 0.09 m² (1 ft²) are removed from a
0.4 m2 (4 ft2) area, the plants will grow back into the hole in one good
growing season. A depth of 15 cm (6 in) is sufficiently deep for digging
plugs. This will leave enough plants and rhizomes to grow back during
the growing season.

Wild plants should be collected after the leaves begin to emerge in the
spring until the first frost. The plants can be pulled up easily from
wet soil. When collecting wild plants, rinse roots gently. Leaves and
stems can be clipped from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches); this allows the
plant to allocate more energy into root production. The roots should
always remain moist or in water until planted. Plants should be
transported and stored in a cool location prior to planting. Water depth
should be 0 to 6\" and the soils should be wet.

*Sagittaria* grows prolifically around ponds or wetlands in shallow
water. Plug spacing of 25-30 cm will fill in within one growing season.
Soil should be kept saturated, with approximately 1/2\" of water over
the surface of the soil after planting. If water is low in nutrients
(oligotrophic), fertilization will speed biomass production and
revegetation. Many surface waters are already rich in nutrients
(eutrophic), and fertilization is not necessary.

Indian potatoes transplant success may be greater with the tubers than
with bare root stock. The little underground potatoes can be separated
from the parent plants with a rake, hoe, or shovel. In unconsolidated
soils, the tubers can be pulled up by hand by searching around the roots
of the plant.

After collecting, the *Sagittaria* potatoes should be kept moist and
cool, and stored in peat moss. Potatoes are then planted in shallow
water, in the same conditions as described above for the whole plants.
Potatoes should be collected and planted when plants are dormant, in the
fall, winter and early spring.

*Seed Germination*: Seeds of *Sagittaria* species take two years to
germinate, because they have a double dormancy requiring cold then warm
then cold temperatures. Temperature has a multiple role in the
regulation of timing of germination. Dormant seeds become non-dormant
only at specific temperatures, non-dormant seeds have specific
temperature requirements for germination, and non-dormant seeds of some
species are induced into dormancy by certain temperatures. Once
*Sagittaria* seeds germinate, they have fairly high viability.
Procedures for growing *Sagittaria* seeds in the greenhouse have not
been developed at this time.

*Sagittaria* seeds can be planted directly in wetlands or ponds. Prepare
the area by creating a washboard in shallow water, at mudflat
consistency. Seeds should then be scattered on the surface of the soil,
as the seeds need sunlight to germinate well. Light and temperature in
natural conditions will promote seed germination, and in two years
*Sagittaria* plants will emerge.

##### Management

Hydrology is the most important factor in determining wetland type,
revegetation success, and wetland function and value. Changes in water
levels influence species composition, structure, and distribution of
plant communities. Water management is absolutely critical during plant
establishment, and remains crucial through the life of the wetland for
proper community management. *Sagittaria* species require moist soils to
standing water for successful revegetation.

We have no record of specific traditional resource management techniques
other than anecdotal information of the use of fire to keep dense tule
marshes open, which provided an opportunity for colonization and spread
of *Sagittaria* species. The harvest of arrowhead was usually made in
late summer as the stems and leaves were dying (and usually when the
water table was lower) (Balls 1962).

##### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Available from native plant nurseries specializing in aquatic plants.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

##### References

Angier, B. 1974. *Field guide to edible wild plants*. Stackpole Books.
255 pp.

Barrett, S.A. & E.W. Gifford 1933. *Miwok caterial culture Indian life
of the Yosemite region.* Yosemite Association. Yosemite National Parks,
California. 388 pp.

Clarke, C.B. 1977*. Edible and useful plants of California.* University
of California Press. 280 pp.

Densmore, F. 1974. *How Indians use wild plants for food, medicine and
crafts.* Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York. 397 pp.

Fowler, C.S. 1992. *In the shadow of Fox Peak. An ethnography of the
cattail-eater Northern Paiute people of Stillwater Marsh*. Cultural
Resource Series #5. USDI, FWS, Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge. 264
pp.

Gilmore, M.R. 1977. *Uses of plants by the Indians of the Missouri River
region*. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. 125 pp.

Goodrich, J., C. Lawson, & V.P. Lawson 1980*. Kashaya Pomo plants*.
Heyday Books, Berkeley, California. 171 pp.

Harrington, H.D. 1972*. Western edible wild plants*. The University of
New Mexico Press. 156 pp.

Hedrick, U.P. 1972. *Sturtevant\'s edible plants of the world*. Dover
Publications, Inc., New York, New York. 686 pp.

Hickman, James C. (ed.) 1993. *The Jepson manual. Higher plants of
California*. University of California Press. 1400 pp.

Hoag, J.C. & M.E. Sellers 1995. *Use of greenhouse propagated wetland
plants versus live transplants to vegetate constructed or created
wetlands*. Interagency Riparian/Wetland Plant Development Project, USDA,
NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, Idaho.

Hoag, J.C. & M.E. Sellers 1994*. Seed and live transplant collection
procedures for 7 wetland plant species*. Interagency Riparian/Wetland
Plant Development Project, USDA, NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen,
Idaho.

Kuhnlein, H.V. & N.J. Turner 1991. *Traditional plant foods of Canadian
indigenous p eoples*. *Nutrition, botany and use*. Gordon and Breach
Science Publishers. 633 pp.

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim, & A.L. Nelson 1951. *American wildlife and
plants: A guide to wildlife food habits.* Dover Publications, Inc. New
York. 500 pp.

Mason, H.L. 1957*. A flora of the marshes of California*. University of
California Press. 878 pp.

Mayer, K.E. & W.F. Laudenslayer Jr., eds. 1988. *A guide to wildlife
habitats of California.* USDA Forest Service, California Department of
Fish and Game, PG&E.

Moerman, D.E. 1986. *Medicinal plants of native America*. University of
Michigan Museum of Anthropology. Technical Reports, Number 19. 534 pp.

Peterson, L.A. 1977. *A field guide to edible wild plant*. Eastern and
Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company. 330 pp.

Strike, S.S. 1994*.* *Ethnobotany of the California Indians*. Volume 2.
Aboriginal Uses of California\'s Indigenous Plants. Koeltz Scientific
Books USA/Germany. 210 pp.

USDA, NRCS 1999. *The PLANTS database*. National Plant Data Center,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. \<http://plants.usda.gov\>. Version: 05apr1999.

##### Prepared By

*Michelle Stevens*

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

##### Species Coordinator

*M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

c/o Plant Sciences Department, University of California, Davis,
California

Edited: 05dec00 jsp; 03jun03 ahv; 060816 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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