Stiff Arrowhead Sagittaria rigida

Other common names: Sessilefruit Arrowhead, Deep-water Duck-potato

Plant family:  water-plantains, Alismataceae

Stiff Arrowhead flower cluster
Stiff Arrowhead flower cluster

Stiff Arrowhead (Sagittaria rigida) has highly variable leaves that often do not have the characteristic arrowhead shape.  They often have an oval leaf at the tip of the stem, but this can be so narrow that it is no wider than the leaf stem. A single plant can have several leaf shapes, and so sometimes, identification can be difficult.

Wildlife Use

Stiff Arrowhead provides some cover for water birds and food for muskrats, but it is the small tubers that are relished by ducks.  That is where the name deep-water duck-potato comes from, that and that fact that it is found in deeper water than Common Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia).  Because it is valued by waterfowl, Stiff Arrowhead is one of the emergent plants often planted in lakes, ponds, and wetlands.

Stiff Arrowhead, Sagitaria rigida Pants
Stiff Arrowhead (Sagittaria rigida) flowers and leaves
Stiff Arrowhead (Sagittaria rigida) leaf
A narrow leaf of Stiff Arrowhead, leaves are usually wider at the end, but some will be arrow-shaped.
Stiff Arrowhead Flower Closeup
Stiff Arrowhead flower closeup showing petals and stamens.
Stiff Arrowhead Bed
A dense bed of Stiff Arrowhead (Sagittaria rigida) with scattered Hardstem bulrush on Lake Butte des Morts.