Northern arrowhead
Sagittaria cuneata · Aquatic plants
Up close · Photo: Arthur Whiting / CC BY
Also called Duck potato, Wapato (small)
How to identify Northern arrowhead
- Smaller, narrower arrow shaped leaves
- Often has ribbonlike underwater leaves or floating heart shaped leaves
- White flowers with 3 petals
- Tubers on runners
Similar plants
Broadleaf arrowhead is larger; burreed has strap leaves and spiky seed balls.
Growth profile
| Growing season | Ribbon leaves appear in spring, arrow leaves by June, flowers July and August, overwinters as tubers. |
|---|---|
| Starts growing | About 50 to 55 F water |
| Light | Full sun; tolerates some turbidity |
| Depth | Moist shoreline to about 3 feet of water |
| How it spreads | Tubers, runners and seeds |
| Habitat | Shallow ponds, lake edges, ditches and slow streams, from valleys to mountains. |
Why it matters in a lake
Can grow submersed with only ribbon leaves in deeper water. Tubers feed waterfowl.
Where it is found
- Idaho: Occasional
- Oregon: Occasional
- Wyoming: Occasional
Classification
| Kingdom | Plantae |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Alismatales |
| Family | Alismataceae |
| Scientific name | Sagittaria cuneata |
Broadleaf cattail
Hardstem bulrush
Reed canarygrass
Purple loosestrife
Soft rush
Yellow flag iris
Broadleaf arrowhead
Western water hemlock
Beaked sedge
Baltic rushNeed a hand?
Is it taking over your lake?
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