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Grassy Arrowhead

Sagittaria graminea

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

full grassy arrowhead

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

What is Grassy Arrowhead?

Other common spellings and names include: grass leaf arrowhead.

Physical Characteristics

Leaves:

  • Straight
  • Either thin, wide linear flattened leaf or slender leaf blades
  • Bladeless or thinly sword-shaped tapering blades
  • Up to 8 inches long & 1 inch wide

Flowers:

  • Thread-like ascending
  • Spreading pedicels up to 1.19 inches long
  • Oval-shaped bracts up to 0.25 inches long
  • Sepals oval-shaped, up to 0.2 inches long
  • Petals white or rarely pinkish, up to 0.25 inches long
  • Bloom Apr – Nov

Fruit:

  • Single seed
  • Does not open to release seed when ripe
  • Oval-shaped
  • 0.08 inches long & 0.02 inches wide
  • Flat sides or with 1-2 narrow ridges

Stem:

  • Simple
  • Up to 10 whorls

Roots:

  • Rooted in mud

Where Does it Grow?

Grassy arrowhead can be found in the shallow water of ditches, ponds, marshes, or streams.

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.

How to Manage This Plant
Plant Glossary

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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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