Quillwort Arrowhead
Sagittaria isoetiformis
Found in pineland ponds, clay-based Carolina bays, natural lake shoreline marshes, other seasonally flooded depressions. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 2 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 37 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.


Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 111 animals.
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica
- Purple MartinProgne subis
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-throated LoonGavia stellata
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- RedheadAythya americana
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Roseate SpoonbillPlatalea ajaja
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
Who uses this plant?
8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Sagittaria
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Argyrogramma verrucaGolden Looper
- Bellura obliquaCattail Border Moth, Cattail Diver
- Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Bellura anoa
11BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Sagittaria
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
11BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sagittaria
- Aix sponsaWood Duck
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
- Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
- Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Aythya valisineriaCanvasback
- Bucephala clangulaCommon Goldeneye
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
Show all 11
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Alismataceae
- Flower color
- White
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 2 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Moist; Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G3 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























