Sagittaria subulata (L.) Buchenau

  • Authority

    Haynes, Robert R. & Holm-Nielsen, Laurtiz B. 1994. The Alismataceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 64: 1-228. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Alismataceae

  • Scientific Name

    Sagittaria subulata (L.) Buchenau

  • Type

    Type. Based on type of Alisma subulatum.

  • Synonyms

    Alisma subulatum L., Sagittaria natans Michx., Sagittaria pusilla Blume, Sagittaria natans var. lorata Chapm., Sagittaria subulata var. natans J.G.Sm., Sagittaria filiformis J.G.Sm., Sagittaria natans var. pusilla (Nutt.) Chapm., Sagittaria subulata var. pusilla (Nutt.) Buchenau, Sagittaria lorata (Chapm.) Small, Sagittaria subulata var. lorata (Chapm.) Fernald, Sagittaria subulata subsp. lorata (Chapm.) R.T.Clausen

  • Description

    Species Description - Perennial herbs from stolons or corms, glabrous, to 90 cm tall; stolons to 15 cm long, 0.5-3 mm wide; corms ca. 0.5 cm long, ca. 0.3 cm diam. Leaves submersed and floating; submersed leaves, sessile, yellow-green, phyllodial, 5-90 cm long, 0.1-0.6 cm wide, the veins 5-13, the apex obtuse to rarely round acute, the base without basal lobes, with a sheath to 1 cm long; floating leaves petiolate, the petioles flattened to terete, 24-40 cm long, 0.5-4 mm wide, the basal sheath to 7 cm long, the blades pale green to greenish-brown, linear-lanceolate to ovate or rarely sub-hastate, 2-6.5 cm long, 0.5-2.5 cm wide, the veins 5-9, the apex obtuse to acute, the basal lobes absent. Inflorescence a simple scape of 2-7 whorls, floating, 2-11 cm long, 1.5-4.5 cm wide, the whorls with 3 flowers; peduncles flattened, 5-40 cm long, 0.5-1.8 mm diam.; staminate bracts united, subulate, delicate, 1.5-4 mm long, the apex acute; carpellate bracts united, subulate, delicate, 0.3-1.2 cm long, the apex acute to round-acute; staminate pedicels erect to spreading, cylindric, 0.2-2.5 cm long, 0.1-0.3 mm diam.; carpellate pedicels spreading in flower, recurved in fruit, cylindric to clavate, 1-11 cm long, 0.3-1.5 mm diam. Staminate flowers without sterile carpels, the sepals spreading to reflexed, 2.5-4 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide, the petals clawed, 2-6 mm long, 1.5-5 mm wide, the claws ca. 0.2 mm long, the stamens 6, the filaments glabrous, dilated, 0.6-2 mm long, to 0.3 mm diam., the anthers linear, ca. 0.6 mm long, ca. 0.2 mm wide, the apex obtuse; carpellate flowers occasionally with ring of sterile stamens, the sepals reflexed to appressed in flower and fruit, 2.8-3.7 mm long, 1.7-2.8 mm wide, the petals clawed, ca. 5 mm long, ca. 4 mm wide, the claw ca. 0.2 mm long. Fruit aggregate 5.5-8 mm diam.; achenes oblanceolate, beaked, keeled, ca. 2 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm wide, the faces etuberculate, with 1-2 crenate wings, with 0-1 gland, the beak lateral, erect, 0.2-0.4 mm long.

  • Discussion

    Michaux (1803) recognized a species he called Sagittaria natans. Pallas (1778) had previously included the name S. natans in his Reise of Russia. Michaux made no mention if the name S. natans was to be credited to him or to Pallas. Later workers assumed it was to be credited to Michaux and based additional combinations on it (see list of synonomy). Sagittaria natans Michaux, regardless, is a later homonym of the Pallas name.

    Sagittaria subulata, according to Paffrath (1980a, 1980b, 1981a), is sold under the German commercial name "Flutendes Pfeilkraut" ("Floating arrowhead," transl.). Propagation is by stolons. It is suited for tropical and subtropical aquaria, where it can accept a wide range of substrate, water hardness, and light. The temperature range is from 15°-30°C (De Wit, 1971; Mühlberg, 1980).

  • Distribution

    Eastern United States of America and Colombia.

    Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America|