Sagittaria latifolia - Duck Potato

Family:	Alismataceae
Habit:	Perennial
Height:	1.2
Width:	0.3
Synonyms:	S. obtusa. S. variabilis.
Range:	N. America - all areas except the far north. Naturalized in various parts of Europe[50].

Sagittaria latifolia (Duck Potato) is a Perennial which grows to a height of 1.2m and a width of 0.3m . It has a hardness rating of 7and is vunerable to frost.
Duck Potato will flower in January to March. the seeds ripen from February to March
The flowers from this plant are monoecious (both sexes are found on the plant but each flower is either male or female) and they are pollinated by Insects

Soil Information

Duck Potato will grow in light (sandy),medium (loamy),hard (clay) soil. It is not necessary for the soil to be well drained.
The soil prefers the following PH / acid levels :
- pH of less than 6, Acidic soils
- pH between 6 and 8, Neutral soils
- pH greater than 8, Basic soils
Duck Potato prefers soils

Ideal Planting Locations

Duck Potato should not be planted in shady areas.

Ditches, ponds, lakes and swampy areas in most parts of N. America[60].

Planting places suited to this plant described below.

• Is a pond plant
• A bog garden plant

Cultivation Details

A pond or bog garden plant, it requires a moist or wet loamy soil in a sunny position[1]. Prefers shallow, still or slowly flowing water up to 12cm deep[1, 56]. Hardy to at least -20°c[187]. A polymorphic species[92].

Edible Uses*

* See disclaimer
Edible Rating: 5/5
Root - raw or cooked[62, 105]. Excellent when roasted, the texture is somewhat like potatoes with a taste like sweet chestnuts[85, 92, 94, 159, 256]. The tubers can be eaten raw but they are rather bitter (especially the skin)[85, 102, 159]. It is best to remove this skin after the tubers have been cooked[183]. The tubers can also be dried and ground into a powder, this powder can be used as a gruel or mixed with cereal flours and used to make bread[85, 94]. The N. American Indians would slice the boiled roots into thin sections and then string them on ropes to dry in much the same way as apples[183].The egg-shaped tubers are 4 - 5cm long and are borne on the ends of slender roots, often 30cm deep in the soil and some distance from the parent plant[85, 92, 94]. The tubers are best harvested in the late summer as the leaves die down[92, 95]. They cannot be harvested by pulling out the plant since the tops break off easily, leaving the tubers in the ground[213].

• Root - includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicinal Uses*

* See disclaimer
Medicinal Rating: 1/5
A poultice of the leaves has been used to stop milk production[222]. A tea made from the roots is used as a digestive[222, 257]. A poultice of the roots is used in the treatment of wounds and sores[222, 257].

• Digestive - Aids digestion.
• Poultice - A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Propagation

Seed - 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. Easy. Runners potted up at any time in the growing season.

Known Hazards

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivars

no recorded cultivars

References

Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest.
Hitchcock. C. L.
Author: Hitchcock. C. L.
Rating:
Publisher : A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.
Date of Publication : 1955

The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Huxley. A.
Author: Huxley. A.
Rating:
Publisher : Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Date of Publication : 1992

Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas
Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J
Author: Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J
Rating: http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm
Publisher : An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.
Date of Publication : 1999

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