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Sagittaria sagittifolia
Also called Arrowhead, Old World Arrowhead, Giant Sag, Giant Sagittaria, Common Arrowhead
Sagittaria sagittifolia is a perennial aquatic plant with arrowhead-shaped leaves, grown in shallow water or wet mud. It is valued for its starchy edible tuber, which is grown as a food crop in parts of Asia.
Sagittaria sagittifolia (also called arrowhead because of the shape of its leaves) is an Old World flowering plant in the family Alismataceae.
It is native to wetlands in most of Europe (it is extinct in Spain) and Asia in Finland and Bulgaria, in Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, Turkey and the Caucasus. It is also cultivated as a food crop in some other countries. In Britain it is the only native species of Sagittaria.
The round tuber is edible. It is starchy with a bland flavour and a texture similar to a potato but somewhat crunchier, even when cooked. In Japan, it is known as kuwai クワイ (慈姑) and its tuber is eaten particularly during the New Year. In China, it is known as 慈姑 cígū and often used in winter hot pots. In Vietnam, the plant's young petiole leaves and rhizomes are used for soups.
Kansas arrowhead · Longbeak arrowhead · Shortbeak arrowhead · Crested arrowhead · Arumleaf arrowhead · Chihuahuan arrowhead · Engelmann's arrowhead · Bunched arrowhead · Threadleaf arrowhead · Grassy arrowhead · Quillwort arrowhead · Springtape
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sagittaria sagittifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
