Broadleaf Arrowhead
Sagittaria latifolia
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1 foot–4 feet 8 inches
- Spread
- 1 foot–3 feet 8 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Late spring
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Recorded in 8 West Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 74 animals.
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
Widespread birds also seen here (45)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Least Flycatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Olive-sided Flycatcher
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Veery
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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
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
8BirdsRecorded eating Sagittaria in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- CanvasbackRoots. 5 diet records
- Lesser ScaupSeeds. 3 diet records
- MallardSeeds and roots. 2 diet records
- Wood DuckRoots. 2 diet records
- American CootSeeds. 1 diet record
- American WigeonSeeds. 1 diet record
- Common GoldeneyeSeeds. 1 diet record
- Ring-necked DuckRoots. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Beetles 1
- Diabrotica 12-punctata
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Flies 10
- Archytas analis
- Limnophora narona
- Lucilia sericata
- Lucilia sylvarum
- Orthoneura nitida
- Rhingia nasica
- Sarcophaga sinuata
- Scepsis fulvicollis
- Spallanzania hesperidarum
- Trichophora ruficauda
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 3
- Ancyloxypha numitor
- Limochores taumas
- Phyciodes tharos
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other wasps 4
- Leionotus arvensis
- Polistes pallipes
- Priononyx atrata
- Pseudoplisus phaleratus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Other insects
Birds that eat Sagittaria 8
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- American CootFulica americana
- American WigeonAnas americana
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
Plant details
- Family
- Alismataceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late spring” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1 foot–4 feet 8 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1 foot–3 feet 8 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Broad Leaf Arrow Head; Common Arrow Head
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV 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.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by rhizomes. Will naturalize by self-seeding and by rhizomes. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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
































