Sagittaria latifolia

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Sagittaria latifolia
Light:Full Sun
Moisture:Hydric
Hardiness:7
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:4'
Width:1'
Blooms:Mid Summer-Early Fall
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Sagittaria latifolia (common name: duck potato)

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]. Prefers shallow, still or slowly flowing water up to 12cm deep[1][2].

Hardy to at least -20°c[3].

A polymorphic species[4].

Range: N. America - all areas except the far north. Naturalized in various parts of Europe[5].

Habitat: Ditches, ponds, lakes and swampy areas in most parts of N. America[6].

Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[7][8]. Excellent when roasted, the texture is somewhat like potatoes with a taste like sweet chestnuts[9][4][10][11][12]. The tubers can be eaten raw but they are rather bitter (especially the skin)[9][13][11]. It is best to remove this skin after the tubers have been cooked[14]. The tubers can also be dried and ground into a powder, this powder can be used as a gruel or mixed with cereal flours and used to make bread[9][10]. The N. American Indians would slice the boiled roots into thin sections and then string them on ropes to dry in much the same way as apples[14].The egg-shaped tubers are 4 - 5cm long and are borne on the ends of slender roots, often 30cm deep in the soil and some distance from the parent plant[9][4][10]. The tubers are best harvested in the late summer as the leaves die down[4][15]. They cannot be harvested by pulling out the plant since the tops break off easily, leaving the tubers in the ground[16].

Medicinal: A poultice of the leaves has been used to stop milk production[17].

A tea made from the roots is used as a digestive[17][18]. A poultice of the roots is used in the treatment of wounds and sores[17][18].

Pollinators: Insects

Notes: Excellent in the shallower areas of the pond.

We can supply in the spring.

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall

Flower Type: Monoecious

Also Known As: S. obtusa. S. variabilis.

Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  2. ↑ Muhlberg, Helmut. Complete Guide to Water Plants. Sterling Publishing, 1982.
  3. ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Balls, Edward. Early Uses of Californian Plants. University of California Press, 1975.
  5. ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
  6. ↑ Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
  7. ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
  8. ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Sweet, Muriel. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co, 1962.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
  12. ↑ Turner, Nancy. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. UBC Press Vancouver, 1995.
  13. ↑ Kavasch, Barrie. Native Harvests. Vintage Books, 1979.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
  15. ↑ Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
  16. ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.


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