Sagitaria latifolia (Wapato)

Wapato, duck-potato or arrowhead is a colony-forming, aquatic perennial, rising above water level to a height of 3 ft. The long-petioled, emergent leaves are arrowhead shaped. Flowers have showy, white petals and are arranged in a whorled raceme. Arrow-shaped basal leaves surround a taller stalk with small white flowers in whorls of three at ends of short, whorled branches. Sap milky. This aquatic is closely related to Water Plantain. In mud, rhizomes produce starchy tubers, utilized by ducks and muskrats and known as "duck potatoes." The plant was once an important source of food for Native Americans, and "Wapato" is one of the names given to it by the Cree. The genus name comes from sagitta, Latin for "arrow," referring to the shape of the leaves of some species.

Members of the Water-Plantain Family grow in water, in swamps, on muddy banks, or occasionally in wet sand. Each plant has long-petioled leaves in a clump with a flowering stem rising among them. The flowers have 3 green sepals, 3 white or pink-tinged petals, 6 or more stamens, and several pistils. Stamens and pistils may be in separate flowers.