Duck Potato, Broadleaf Arrowhead
Sagittaria latifolia

Family: Alismataceae

What it is like

Sagittaria latifolia is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.2 m (4ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers wet soil and can grow in water.

Height (m): 1.2

Where it is found

Ditches, ponds, lakes and swampy areas in most parts of N. America.

N. America - all areas except the far north. Naturalized in various parts of Europe.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 5

Root - raw or cooked. Excellent when roasted, the texture is somewhat like potatoes with a taste like sweet chestnuts. The tubers can be eaten raw but they are rather bitter (especially the skin). It is best to remove this skin after the tubers have been cooked. The tubers can also be dried and ground into a powder, this powder can be used as a gruel or mixed with cereal flours and used to make bread. The N. American Indians would slice the boiled roots into thin sections and then string them on ropes to dry in much the same way as apples.The egg-shaped tubers are 4 - 5cm long and are borne on the ends of slender roots, often 30cm deep in the soil and some distance from the parent plant. The tubers are best harvested in the late summer as the leaves die down. They cannot be harvested by pulling out the plant since the tops break off easily, leaving the tubers in the ground.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 1

A poultice of the leaves has been used to stop milk production. A tea made from the roots is used as a digestive. A poultice of the roots is used in the treatment of wounds and sores.

Digestive: Aids digestion.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Other

Rating: 0

How it is grown

A pond or bog garden plant, it requires a moist or wet loamy soil in a sunny position. Prefers shallow, still or slowly flowing water up to 12cm deep. Hardy to at least -20°c. A polymorphic species.

Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a pot standing in about 5cm of water. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and gradually increase the depth of water as the plants grow until it is about 5cm above the top of the pot. Plant out in late spring or early summer of the following year. Division of the tubers in spring or autumn. Easy. Runners potted up at any time in the growing season.

Best place to grow: Pond; Bog Garden;

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 6-9

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Wet, water

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Sagitta latifolia (Willd.) Nieuwl. Sagittaria esculenta Howell. Sagittaria gigantea Riddell [Illegitimate]. Sagittaria gracilis Pursh. Sagittaria hastata Pursh. Sagittaria longirostra (Micheli) J.G.Sm. Sagittaria obtusa Muhl. ex Willd. [Illegitimate]. Sagittaria ornithorhyncha Small. Sagittaria planipes Fernald. Sagittaria pubescens Muhl. Sagittaria simplex Pursh. Sagittaria variabilis Engelm.Sagittaria viscosa C.Mohr