Duck Potato Sagittaria fasciculata
Other Common Name(s):
Other plants called Duck Potato:
Previously known as:
- Sagittaria graminea var. macrocarpa
- Sagittaria macrocarpa
- Phonetic Spelling
- saj-ee-TAR-ee-uh fas-sik-yoo-LAY-tah
- Description
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Bunched arrowhead is a small herbaceous perennial in the Alismataceae (water plantain) family that grows in wetland areas. Though it has "arrowhead" in its common name it is the only member of its genus that has lance-shaped instead of arrowhead leaves. It grows about 15 inches tall and blooms mid-May through July. This plant produces edible tubers that were heavily collected by the native Americans as a food source. Submerged leaves are long and narrow, round in cross-section. Emerging leaves are flat, broadly ovate, or lanceolate. They need clean, slow-flowing water on gently sloped landscapes or in deciduous forests.
This is an endangered plant, if you find one do not disturb it. Bunched arrowhead is found only in small, isolated pockets in Henderson County North Carolina and Greenville County South Carolina. The seepage habitat in which grows is extremely threatened, and the remaining populations are threatened by residential and industrial development, conversion to pasture, and invasive species.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Sagittaria
- Species:
- fasciculata
- Family:
- Alismataceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Native Americans at the tubers.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- NC, SC
- Distribution:
- Henderson and Buncombe counties in North Carolina plus Greenville and Laurens counties in South Carolina
- Edibility:
- Edible
- Dimensions:
- Height: 0 ft. 3 in. - 1 ft. 4 in.
- Width: 0 ft. 3 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Native Plant
- Water Plant
- Wildflower
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- Soil Texture:
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil Drainage:
- Frequent Standing Water
- Moist
- Occasional Flooding
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- Less than 12 inches
- NC Region:
- Mountains
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6a, 6b
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Fruit:
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Description:
- Fruits mature a in the summer
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Radial
- Flower Petals:
- 2-3 rays/petals
- Flower Description:
- White flowers with yellow center appear in mid May, late spring to early summer.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Ovate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Emergent leaves are broad and tapered at the tip up to 1 foot long and 1-2 inches wide.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Slope/Bank
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Wet Soil
