Sagittaria cuneata
| Sagittaria cuneata | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Sagittaria cuneata (common name: wapato)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a pot standing in about 5cm of water. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and gradually increase the depth of water as the plants grow until it is about 5cm above the top of the pot. Plant out in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Division of the tubers in spring or autumn. Easy.
Runners potted up at any time in the growing season.
Cultivation: A pond or bog garden plant, it requires a moist or wet loamy soil in a sunny position[1][2]. Succeeds in shallow, still or slowly flowing water.
Plants are usually monoecious but dioecious forms are sometimes found[3].
A very polymorphic species[3]. In mud or shallow water the leaves are broad, but in deep water the plant only produces long slender leafstalks[4].
This plant has potential for commercial cultivation as a root crop[4].
Range: N. America - Nova Scotia to British Columbia, south to Connecticut, Kansas, and California.
Habitat: Calcareous or muddy shores and shallow water[3].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[5]. Slightly bitter raw[4], the roasted tubers are sweet-tasting[6][7]. Those tubers found at the end of the rootstock are the best[6]. When broken off from the roots the tubers rise to the water surface and are then easily gathered[4].
Medicinal: The plant has been used to treat headaches[5].
The corms have been eaten as a treatment for indigestion[5].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Monoecious
Also Known As: S. arifolia.
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.