Sagittaria engelmanniana J.G.Smith
ALISMATACEAE (Water-Plantain Family)
| Taxonomy |
Sagittaria engelmanniana J.G.Smith
ALISMATACEAE (Water-Plantain Family)
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| Etymology | Sagittaria is derived from the Latin sagitta = arrow, because of its arrow-shaped leaves; Engelmanniana is named for Georg Engelmann (1844-1930), an American physician and botanist who studied oaks, conifers, Cactaceae and Cuscuta. | |
| Synonyms (Common Name) | Engelmann's Arrowhead | |
| Description | Like other arrowhead species, narrow-leaved arrowhead is a stemless, aquatic, perennial herb. Small and slender, it is an emergent plant of shallow, acidic waters. Narrow-leaved arrowhead is found chiefly along the coastal plain in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, which are the northern limits of its range. | |
| Wetland indicator status | OBL | |
| Plant Height | 10-30 inches | |
| Leaves | Simple, entire, narrowly arrow-shaped with narrow-linear basal lobes; 2-4" long, blade less than 1" wide; parallel veins emanating from single point on the leaf. | |
| Flower/Inflorescence | White with bright yellow center, 1-1 1/2" wide, showy, 3 sepals, 3 petals; 2-4 whorls of 3 flowers; female flowers below male flowers. | |
| Flowering Period | July-September | |
| Fruit | Achene tiny, flat with 1-2 wings on each face; in seedpod up to 1/2" wide; seedpods usually in whorls of 3. | |
| Habitat | Acidic waters of bogs, ponds and streams. | |
| Range | Massachusetts to Florida and Mississippi, mainly on coastal plain. |