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| ## wapato {#wapato .Title-Header}                                     |
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| *Sagittaria cuneata* E. Sheldon                                       |
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| Plant Symbol = SACU                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

### 

### Alternate Names

Indian potato, arrowhead

### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: *Sagittaria* is an aquatic plant with tuberous roots
that can be eaten like potatoes. 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 widely traded from harvesting centers to neighboring areas. On the
Lower Columbia in Chinook Territory, Katzie families owned large patches
of the wapato plants. Family groups camped beside their harvesting sites
for a month or more.

Indian women collected wapato 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 cooking, 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.

Medicinally, the Maidu of California used an infusion of arrowhead roots
to clean and treat wounds. The Navaho 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 bath feverish
babies, with one sip given orally. The Iroquois used wapato for
rheumatism, a dermatological aid, a laxative, and as a ceremonial
blessing when they began planting corn.

*Wildlife*: The small, flattish seeds of arrowheads are eaten by ducks,
and the tubers are valuable to many species of 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 (Martin 1951).

### 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). *Sagittaria cuneata* is an aquatic plant growing in swampy ground or standing water in ponds, lakes, stream edges, and ditches (Hickman 1993). Wapato have white or bluish tubers, which are edible. The leaves are sagittate, with 5-15 cm long erect or floating leaf blades; the lower lobes of the emergent leaf blades are less than 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 a greenish colored achene.

# 

### 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. *Sagittaria cuneata* is transcontinental, extending from north
central Alaska to Labrador, extending south to California and northern
Texas. In California, *Sagittaria cuneata* ranges from middle to high
elevations \< 2500 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. 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 from the time leaves emerge in spring
until first frost. 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 cm 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.

*Transplanting tubers*: 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* tubers should be kept moist and cool,
and stored in peat moss. Wapato tubers are then planted in shallow
water, in the same conditions as described above for the whole plants.
Tubers should be collected and planted when plants are dormant, in the
fall, winter and early spring.

*Seeds*: 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 nondormant only at specific
temperatures, non-dormant seeds have specific temperature requirements
for germination, and nondormant 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; however, *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.

Muskrats have evolved with wetland ecosystems and form a valuable
component of healthy functioning wetland communities. Muskrat eat-outs
increase wetland diversity by opening up the dense tule and cattail
stands, 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. Caches of
*Sagittaria* tubers stored by muskrat and beaver were often sought by
Indian people.

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)

This species is readily available from native plant nurseries within its
range. 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 material 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.

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 peoples.* 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, 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, and 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.

### 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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