Sagittaria sagittifolia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Alismatales

Familia: Alismataceae
Genus: Sagittaria
Species: Sagittaria sagittifolia
Name

Sagittaria sagittifolia L., (1753).
Synonyms

Homotypic
Sagitta major Scop., Fl. Carniol., ed. 2, 2: 239 (1772), nom. superfl.

Heterotypic
Alisma sagittaria Stokes, Bot. Mat. Med. 2: 335 (1812).
Sagitta aquatica (Lam.) St.-Lag. in A.Cariot, Étude Fl., ed. 8, 2: 819 (1889).
Sagitta palustris Bubani, Fl. Pyren. 4: 4 (1901).
Sagittaria acuminata Sm. in A.Rees, Cycl. 31: 4 (1815).
Sagittaria aquatica Lam., Fl. Franç. 2: 197 (1779).
Sagittaria bulbosa (Poir.) Donn, Hortus Cantabrig., ed. 6: 246 (1811).
Sagittaria gigantea H.Vilm., Fl. Pleine Terre: 759 (1863), nom. illeg.
Sagittaria heterophylla Schreb. in A.F.Schweigger & F.Koerte, Fl. Erlang. 2: 119 (1811).
Sagittaria lancifolia H.Vilm., Fl. Pleine Terre: 759 (1863), nom. illeg.
Sagittaria minor Mill., Gard. Dict. ed. 8: 2 (1768).
Sagittaria monoeca Gilib., Fl. Lit. Inch. 2: 218 (1782), opus utiq. oppr.
Sagittaria sagittifolia subvar. butomoides Asch. & Graebn., Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 1: 393 (1897).
Sagittaria sagittifolia subvar. pumila Asch. & Graebn., Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 1: 393 (1897).
Sagittaria sagittifolia var. aequiloba Schur, Enum. Pl. Transsilv.: 630 (1866).
Sagittaria sagittifolia var. angustata Tinant, Fl. Luxemb.: 474 (1836).
Sagittaria sagittifolia var. bollei Asch. & Graebn., Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 1: 393 (1897).
Sagittaria sagittifolia var. divaricata Schur, Enum. Pl. Transsilv.: 630 (1866).
Sagittaria sagittifolia var. heterophylla (Schreb.) Schur, Enum. Pl. Transsilv.: 630 (1866).
Sagittaria sagittifolia var. minor (Mill.) Regel, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint Pétersbourg, Sér. 7, VII, 4: 154 (1862), nom. illeg.
Sagittaria sagittifolia var. stratiotes Bolle, Verh. Bot. Vereins Prov. Brandenburg 3: 164 (1861).
Sagittaria sagittifolia var. vallisneriifolia Coss. & Germ., Fl. Descr. Anal. Paris: 522 (1845).
Sagittaria tenuior Gand., Fl. Lyon.: 226 (1875).
Sagittaria vulgaris Gueldenst., Reis. Russland 2: 45 (1791).
Vallisneria bulbosa Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck, Encycl. 8: 321 (1808).

References

Checklista över Nordens kärlväxter – version 2004-01-19. Swedish Museum of Natural History, only in Swedish
Govaerts, R. et al. 2011. Sagittaria sagittifolia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2011 Feb 16. Reference page.
Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 993. Reference page.

Vernacular names
العربية: سهمية نموذجية
kaszëbsczi: Wòdnô strzélka
čeština: Šípatka střelolistá
Cymraeg: Saethlys
dansk: Almindelig Pilblad
Deutsch: Gewöhnliches Pfeilkraut
English: Hawaii arrowhead
español: Sagittaria sagittifolia
eesti: Jõgi-kõõlusleht
suomi: Pystykeiholehti
français: Sagittaire à feuilles en flèche
Frysk: Snoekeblêd
hornjoserbsce: Wšědna šipica
italiano: Erba saetta
日本語: クワイ, くわい, 慈姑, 田草, 燕尾草, クワエ
lietuvių: Strėlialapė papliauška
Nederlands: Pijlkruid
norsk: Pilblad
polski: Strzałka wodna
slovenčina: šípovka vodná
svenska: Pilblad
українська: Стрілиця звичайна
Tiếng Việt: Từ cô
中文: 慈菇, 茨菰, 燕尾草, 白地栗

Sagittaria sagittifolia (also called arrowhead due to the shape of its leaves) is a flowering plant in the family Alismataceae, native to wetlands most of Europe from Ireland and Portugal to Finland and Bulgaria, and in Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, Japan, Turkey, China, India, Australia, Vietnam and the Caucasus. It is also cultivated as a food crop in some other countries. In Britain it is the only native Sagittaria.[3][1]
Omodaka kamon (ja:沢瀉紋) depicting stylized arrowhead

Sagittaria sagittifolia is a herbaceous perennial plant, growing in water from 10–50 cm deep. The leaves above water are arrowhead-shaped, the leaf blade 15–25 cm long and 10–22 cm broad, on a long petiole holding the leaf up to 45 cm above water level. The plant also has narrow linear submerged leaves, up to 80 cm long and 2 cm broad. The flowers are 2-2.5 cm broad, with three small sepals and three white petals, and numerous purple stamens.

Cultivation and uses

The round tuber is edible. It tastes bland, with a starchy 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.[dubious – discuss] 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.[4]

Remnants of Sagittaria sagittifolia have been found in the Paleolithic/Mesolithic site of Całowanie in Poland.[5]

Sagittaria sagittifolia is used in Chinese medicine, and in 2006 seven new ent-rosane diterpenoids and a new labdane diterpene were purified from the plant. Four of these compounds (Sagittine A–D) exhibited antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans and Actinomyces naeslundii while another (Sagittine E) was only active against A. naeslundii (MIC = 62.5 μg ml–1). Recently, the same group identified five new diterpenoids from Sagittaria pygmaea. None displayed activity against A. actinomycetemcomitans, while four of the others were active against A. viscosus and three against S. mutans, of which 18-ß-D-3',6'-diacetoxyglucopyranosyl-ent-kaur-16-ene was the most active.[6]
As a weed

Sagittaria sagittifolia can be weedy or invasive according to the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ). It also appears on state noxious weed lists for 46 states.[7]
References

Lansdown, R.V. (2014). "Sagittaria sagittifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T167821A43126944. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T167821A43126944.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
The Plant List
"World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
Tanaka, Yoshitaka; Van Ke, Nguyen (2007). Edible Wild Plants of Vietnam: The Bountiful Garden. Thailand: Orchid Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-9745240896.
Kubiak-Martens, Lucyna (1996). "Evidence for possible use of plant foods in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic diet from the site of Całowanie in the central part of the Polish Plain". Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 5 (1–2): 33–38. doi:10.1007/BF00189433. S2CID 129435212.
B.Parimala Devi et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2009, 2(11),1669-1675 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
"Plants Profile for Sagittaria sagittifolia (arrowhead)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2017-01-30.