FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Leaf veins radiate from petiole attachment point. Petiole 5-sided in cross-section.
Synonym(s): Sagittaria chinensis, Sagittaria engelmanniana, Sagittaria esculenta, Sagittaria longirostra, Sagittaria obtusa, Sagittaria ornithorhyncha, Sagittaria planipes, Sagittaria pubescens, Sagittaria viscosa
Description: Emergent or submersed, perennial herb usually found in clumps, reaching about 1 m in height.
Leaves: Triangular, with pointed tips, up to 25 cm long. Leaves have long, main veins with many short connecting veins. Petioles 5-sided in cross-section.
Flowers/Fruit: White, 3-petaled flowers with yellow anthers, in whorls of 3 at nodes on flowering stalks. Fruits are rounded balls, green turning to light brown with maturity. Blooms June to September; fruits soon after flowering.
Habit and Range: Wet soil, marshes, stream sides, ditches, and pond margins throughout North Carolina.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
The flowers of Sagittaria lancifolia (bull-tongue arrowhead) are nearly identical to Sagittaria latifolia (broadleaf arrowhead); however, S. lancifolia has lance-shaped leaves. S. latifolia can also be confused with Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed), which often grows in the same places and has more rounded, heart-shaped leaves, and purple flowers. S. latifolia leaf veins radiate from a single point, rather than with side veins as in Peltandra virginica (green arrow arum), which has similar arrowhead-shaped leaves.
Click here to view Sagittaria lancifolia.
Click here to view Pontederia cordata.
Click here to view Peltandra virginica.
Link to side-by-side comparisons page
