Duck Potato
Sagittaria latifolia
Duck Potato (Sagittaria latifolia), also known as Arrowhead or Wapato, is an aquatic perennial plant in the Alismataceae that produces edible, potato-like tubers underwater. Native to North America, this plant was a crucial food source for Indigenous peoples who harvested the tubers from marshes and shallow lakes, and its arrow-shaped leaves make it one of the most distinctive wetland plants.
• Produces edible tubers (corms) that taste like potatoes or chestnuts — hence "Duck Potato"
• The arrow-shaped leaves are its most recognizable feature — the genus name Sagittaria means "arrow" in Latin
• Indigenous peoples of North America harvested wapato tubers as a staple food for thousands of years
• Lewis and Clark survived on wapato during their expedition when other food was scarce
• The tubers grow underwater in the mud at the bottom of marshes and shallow lakes
• Also called "wapato" — a Chinook Jargon word adopted from the Cree language
Taxonomy
• Found across most of the United States and southern Canada in wetlands, marshes, ponds, and slow streams
• Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere relied on wapato as a carbohydrate staple
• The Chinook, Multnomah, and other Pacific Northwest peoples harvested wapato by wading into marshes and dislodging tubers with their feet
• Meriwether Lewis described wapato as "the greatest resource of the Indians of this neighborhood" during the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1805)
• The genus Sagittaria contains approximately 30 species worldwide
• Also introduced to Europe as an ornamental aquatic plant, where it has become naturalized
• The species epithet "latifolia" means "broad-leaved"
Leaves:
• Distinctive arrow-shaped (sagittate), 10 to 30 cm long and 5 to 20 cm wide
• Two basal lobes pointing downward, longer than the terminal lobe in most plants
• Bright green, smooth, with prominent parallel veins
• Arising from the base on long, triangular petioles 30 to 90 cm tall
Submerged leaves:
• Linear, ribbon-like, sometimes present on younger plants
Flowers:
• Whorled in racemes on leafless scape, 30 to 90 cm tall
• Three white petals, 1 to 2 cm long, with a yellow center (cluster of stamens)
• Blooms July to September
• Male flowers uppermost, female flowers lower on the stem
Tubers (the edible part):
• Produced at the end of underground stolons (runners) in the mud
• Ovoid to fusiform, 2 to 5 cm in diameter
• Brown skin, white, crisp, starchy flesh
• Each plant produces multiple tubers
• Resemble small potatoes in taste and texture
Roots:
• Fibrous, arising from the base of the plant and from stolons
Per 100 g cooked tuber:
• Energy: approximately 90 to 110 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 20 to 25 g (predominantly starch)
• Protein: 1 to 2 g
• Potassium, phosphorus, and iron
• Contains B vitamins
• Good source of dietary fiber
• Provides a starchy staple food comparable to potatoes
• Low in fat
• The tubers contain more protein than many other aquatic tuber crops
Habitat:
• Shallow water (10 to 50 cm deep), marshes, pond margins, and slow streams
• Muddy or silty substrate
• Full sun
Cultivation:
• Plant tubers in the mud at the bottom of a pond or water garden in spring
• Water depth: 10 to 30 cm above the soil
• Can be grown in containers submerged in water
• Spreads by stolons producing new tubers
Harvest:
• Harvest tubers in autumn when the plant dies back
• Traditionally harvested by wading into the water and dislodging tubers from the mud with feet or hands
• Each plant produces multiple tubers connected by stolons
• Can also be dug from drained marshes
Propagation:
• Plant tubers 5 to 8 cm deep in mud
• Also grows from seed, but tuber planting is easier
• Very vigorous once established
• Boiled or roasted like potatoes — the simplest preparation
• Mashed like potatoes
• Sliced and fried as chips or fritters
• Added to soups and stews
• Dried and ground into flour for baking
• Baked in embers (traditional Indigenous method)
• The taste has been described as a cross between potato and chestnut
Ecological uses:
• Important food for waterfowl (ducks, geese, swans) — hence the name "Duck Potato"
• Habitat and food for aquatic wildlife
• Water purification in constructed wetlands
• Ornamental water garden plant
Fun Fact
Indigenous women of the Pacific Northwest harvested wapato tubers by wading chest-deep into freezing marsh water and dislodging the tubers from the mud with their bare feet, then picking them up as they floated to the surface — a harvest technique that required remarkable endurance and skill, and was considered one of the most important food-gathering activities of the year.
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