E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Sagittaria latifolia Willd. var. latifolia
wapato
Alismataceae (Water-plantain Family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Virginia Skilton  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #2696)
Distribution of Sagittaria latifolia var. latifolia
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Species Information

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Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of BC
General:
Perennial aquatic or semi-aquatic herb from a tuber-producing rhizome; stems 20-50 (90) cm tall.
Leaves:
All basal, blades of the emergent leaves arrowhead-shaped, 5-25 cm long, long-stalked and sheathed at the base, blades of the submerged leaves lanceolate, or linear and essentially bladeless, up to 80 cm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an open, bracteate panicle of stalked flowers, the bracts egg-shaped, rounded or hooded at the tips, 5-10 (15) mm long; mature male and female flower stalks of equal length; petals white, 1-2 cm long; sepals 5-8 mm long.
Fruits:
Achenes, numerous in a globular cluster, winged, 2-3.5 mm long, sharp-beaked, the beaks extending at right angles to the body, 0.5-1.5 mm long.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the:  "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Habitat / Range

Wet ditches, ponds, lakeshores and marshes in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; infrequent in BC south of 56degreeN, absent from Queen Charlotte Islands, N Vancouver Island and adjacent coast; E to PQ, NB and NS and S to ME, PA, NC, FL, MS, TX, NM, AZ and CA; N South America, HI.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of BC

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Alismataceae
 Flora North America treatment for Sagittaria latifolia
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the Missouri Botanical Garden
 Vascular Plant Type Database, New York Botanical Gardens
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Burke Museum of Natural History's Image Collection
 Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

Related Databases

FDA Poisonous Plant Database

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2013. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 5/24/2013 7:10:21 AM ]
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E-Flora BC: An initiative of the Spatial Data Lab, Department of Geography UBC, and the UBC Herbarium.