Other common names: Sessilefruit Arrowhead, Deep-water Duck-potato
Plant family: water-plantains, Alismataceae
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.
