Maranta arundinacea

Arrowroot is an erect, flowering, herbaceous perennial, growing to 5 feet high, and native to the floor of moist evergreen or deciduous forests, often in clearings where light levels are relatively high, from Mexico to Brazil. The common name, Arrowroot, comes from its use as a poultice to remove poison from arrow wounds. Its scientific names are more prosaic. Maranta comes from Bartolomea Maranta a 16th C Italian physician and botanist. Arundinacea refers to the reed or cane-like form of the stems.

Arrowroot has mid-green leaves and small white flowers and grows in partial shade near or in the margins of water. It is home to, or food for, many organisms from butterflies to microscopic ones. The rhizomatous root is a source of starch and in the early 1800s it was commercially grown in Georgia and South Carolina. It is still grown commercially on St Vincent Island in the Caribbean.

Arrowroot grows best when temperatures are between 73 °F and 84 °F with an annual precipitation between 59 inches and 79 inches. Dormant rhizomes, however, can withstand temperatures as low as 41 °F. Thus, in the continental United States, only southern Florida is conducive to cultivation of arrowroot as an outside plant.

Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems:

No known diseases or insect pests.