Species
Sagittaria sagittifolia
Authority
Sagittaria sagittifolia L.
Family
Alismataceae
Brief Description
A tall marginal aquatic plant, with arrow-shaped leaves and submerged strap like leaves.
Flora Category
Vascular - Exotic
Structural Class
Monocotyledonous Herbs
Distribution
Only field site from Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, cultivated elsewhere.
Habitat
Still and slow flowing water bodies.
Features
Tall summer-green perennial dying back to underground parts over winter. Emergent leaves have a distinctive glossy arrow-shape 3 -16 cm x 0.3-7 cm with long basal lobes 2-30 cm long. Petioles are triangular in cross-section. Plants can also produce ovoid floating leaves and strap-like submerged leaves. Rhizomatous with round tubers, up to 3 cm across, produced on these. No flowers seen on New Zealand material.
Similar Taxa
Other Sagittaria species. Sagittaria montevidensis also has arrow-shaped leaves but petioles are D-shaped in cross-section and it does not produce creeping rhizomes or tubers. The two other Sagittaria species present in New Zealand (S. subulata and S. platyphylla) do not have arrow-shaped emergent leaves.
Flowering
No flowering plants seen in New Zealand
Flower Colours
White
Year Naturalised
2002
Origin
Native to Asia and Europe.
Reason for Introduction
Ornamental pond plant and food plant (edible tubers)
Control Techniques
Notify regional council if found
Life Cycle and Dispersal
Apparently by deliberate planting and subsequent spread by water movement. Possibly cultivated as a vegetable by some ethnic groups.
This page last updated on 21 Aug 2013