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Arrowhead

Sagittaria spp.

Arrowhead Locations in North America
Arrowhead Locations in Southeast US
close up arrowhead

Bull Tongue Arrowhead
Bull Tongue Arrowhead
arrowhead diagram

large arrowhead
arrowhead being held over pond
Arrowhead, Bull Tongue close up

arrowhead in pond
Bull Tongue Arrowhead

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration courtesy of University of Florida/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. Used with permission.

What is Arrowhead?

Physical Characteristics

Stem:

  • Whorled
  • See details of each species

Leaves:

  • Submersed or emersed
  • Long leaf stalks
  • Bladeless or with unlobed or arrow-shaped blades

Flowers:

  • Produced all summer
  • Whorls of 3
  • 3 sepals
  • 3 petals
  • White or rarely pink

Fruit:

  • One seed
  • Does not open to release seed when ripe
  • Flattened

Pros and Cons of Arrowhead

The tubers of arrowheads are prized foods by ducks, geese, muskrats, and nutria. Seeds are sometimes consumed by ducks. Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc.). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates. Giant arrowhead is non-native and invasive, and should be eradicated, other species are beneficial and can be cultivated.

What Type of Arrowhead Do I Have?

There are 9 different species of arrowhead in North America. Click on the buttons to learn more about each specific species.  

Sagittaria montevidensis
Sagittaria graminea
Sagittaria platyphylla
Sagittaria lancifolia
Sagittaria papillosa
Sagittaria latifolia
Sagittaria longiloba
Sagittaria brevirostra
Sagittaria cuneata
How to Manage This Plant
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Photo Credits: The majority of the aquatic plant line drawings are the copyright of the University of Florida Center for Aquatic Plants (Gainsville). They are used with permission.

Aquatic plant photographs were provided by David Bayne, Jim Davis, Kelly Duffie, Billy Higginbotham, Michael Masser, John Clayton, Chetta Owens, Diane Smith, Joe Snow, Don Steinbach, Bridget Robinson Lassiter and Peter Woods.

You may use these photos, so long as you give credit to AquaPlant.

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