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Sagittaria filiformis

Found in swiftly flowing water of blackwater rivers and streams, blackwater lake shores, tidal waters. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

56
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 5 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to September

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 1 Virginia county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 169 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
  • Bellura anoa
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

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
Also known as

Sagittaria subulata var. gracillima

Conservation status

Virginia rankSH
Global rankG4
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources