WAPATO
 

 Sagittaria cuneata
[saj-ee-TAR-ee-uh   kew-nee-AH-tuh]
(Syn Sagittaria arifolia)

 

Family:  Alismataceae

Names: Arrow-head, Wapatum arrowhead, arum-leaf arrowhead 

Description: Aquatic Plant.  Leaves all basal, fleshy, arrow-shaped, the basal lobes straight or divergent and the  leaves extremely variable in width; flowers large, in whorls of 3, the lower pistillate and the upper staminate; achenes very numerous, spirally arranged, forming a tight ball.  The species are separated by the shape of the achene and the position of its beak.  Flowers appear in July. 

Cultivation: A pond or bog garden plant, it requires a moist or wet loamy soil in a sunny position. Succeeds in shallow, still or slowly flowing water.  In mud or shallow water the leaves are broad, but in deep water the plant only produces long slender leafstalks. The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a pot standing in about 5cm of water. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and gradually increase the depth of water as the plants grow until it is about 5cm above the top of the pot. Plant out in late spring or early summer of the following year.  Division of the tubers in spring or autumn.  The runners potted up at any time in the growing season.  The roots are collected it in shallow water where the tubers are harvested with a hoe, pitchfork, or rake.

History: The tubers were widely traded by native peoples from harvesting centers to neighboring areas. The tubers were also a major item of commerce on the Lower Columbia in Chinook Territory. Katzie families owned large patches of the plant and clearing the patches claimed ownership. Family groups would camp beside their claimed harvesting sites for a month or more.

Properties: analgesic, stomachic

Medicinal Uses: The Maidu of California used an infusion of arrowhead roots to clean and treat wounds. The Navajo use these plants for headaches. The Ojibwa and the Chippewa used Sagittaria species as a remedy for indigestion. The Cherokee used an infusion of leaves to bathe feverish babies, with one sip given orally. The Iroquois used it for rheumatism, a dermatological aid, and a laxative. The Iroquois used it as a ceremonial blessing when they began planting corn.

Veterinary Uses: Dried leaves were given to horses for urinary troubles or put into a sore mouth.

Culinary Uses:  Tubers are baked in fire embers, boiled, or roasted in the ashes. Tubers are skinned and eaten whole or mashed.  After roasting, some tubers were dried and stored for winter use.  The tubers are slightly bitter raw but the roasted tubers are sweet-tasting with those tubers at the end of the rootstock the best.  Boiled and sliced, the potatoes were strung on a string for winter use.  The corms were boiled fresh, dried and candied with maple sugar.