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Wild flowers of the north-eastern states

Chapter 62: WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY. ALISMACEÆ.
By Ellen Miller
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Nature/Gardening/Animals

About This Book

This illustrated manual gathers 308 common wildflowers of the northeastern United States, each drawn life-size and accompanied by plain-language descriptions emphasizing habit, color, and growth rather than technical dissection. Organized by floral families in the sequence of Gray's Manual and arranged for seasonal bloom, entries include leaves, stems, and often whole growth, with occasional shrubs, vines, and fruit shown where notable. Aimed at amateur naturalists, it favors recognizable traits and folk names to ease identification, offers practical notes on variations and habitat, and pairs accurate botanical classification with accessible, pictorial presentation.

WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY.
ALISMACEÆ.

Arrowhead.Sagittaria variabilis.

Found in shallow water and low moist grounds, from July to August.

The leaf- and flower-stems rise 1 or 2 feet from the root.

The leaf varies very much in size and proportion; it is arrow-shaped, with strong ribs, a smooth and fine surface, and is borne on a single stem that rises directly from the root. It is green, of a vigorous quality.

The flowers leave 3 rounding petals, concave, and of an exceptionally pure white color. They are of two kinds, sometimes borne on separate stems, sometimes upon the same stem (in which case the stamen-bearing flowers are placed upon its upper part); the stamens are many, and of a pure orange yellow, making a heart of gold in their white blossoms, while the pistil appears in its flower as a beautiful light green ball. The calyx is green and 3-parted. The flowers are arranged in whorls of threes and fours, upon inch long foot-stems, which are placed along a large many-angled, green stem, rising from the root.

The Arrowhead is attractive in all its parts, and in its gesture; it is truly decorative, and suggests the subjects treated by the best Gothic artists.