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Sagittaria graminea

Common name:	Chinese Arrowhead	Family:	Alismataceae
Author:	Michx.	Botanical references:	200, 204
Synonyms:	Sagittaria sinensis (Sims.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Ontario, south to Texas and Florida.
Habitat:	Shallow water and muddy or sandy shores[204].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	S. japonica[G] S. sagittifolia subsp. leucopetala[G] S. sagittifolia var. edulis[G] S. sagittifolia var. leucopetala[G] S. trifolia[G] S. trifolia var. edulis[G] S. trifolia var. sinensis[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Grass-leaf Arrowhead [B], Grassy Arrowhead [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	graminea = grass like
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Alismatales. Water-plantain family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmaina.

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Perennial growing to 0.5m. It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires wet soil and can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond, Bog Garden.

Edible Uses

Leaves Root.

Root - cooked. Contains 4 - 7% protein[183].
Young shoots - cooked[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A pond or bog garden plant, it requires a moist or wet loamy soil in a sunny position[1, 200]. Prefers shallow, still or slowly flowing water up to 30 - 60cm deep.
The edible roots are commonly found in Chinese markets[183].
There is some confusion over this name. The report that this plant is edible gives the name as S. sinensis and its range as Asia. However, the RHS Dictionary of Gardening says that S. sinensis is a synonym of S. graminea and that its range is Eastern N. America.

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.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Alternative Root Crops.

Web References

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Sagittaria sagittifolia subsp. leucopetala (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for the family Alismataceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[204] Livingstone. B. Flora of Canada National Museums of Canada 1978 ISBN 0-660-00025-3
In 4 volumes, it does not deal with plant uses but gives descriptions and habitats.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Sagittaria+graminea
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.