Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Longbeak Arrowhead

Sagittaria australis

(J.G. Sm.) Small

Longbeak Arrowhead

G4Apparently Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.142610
Element CodePMALI04020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderAlismatales
FamilyAlismataceae
GenusSagittaria
Other Common Names
longbeak arrowhead (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
The name Sagittaria longirostra has sometimes been misapplied to this species (Kartesz 1999; FNA 2000).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-01-13
Change Date2025-01-13
Edition Date2025-01-13
Edition AuthorsMacBryde, Bruce, rev. N. Ventrella (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Sagittaria australis is an aquatic perennial monocot occurring in ditches, ponds, marshes, swamps, and riparian habitats of North America from New York west to Iowa, south to Louisiana, and east to Florida, and Vermont, where it may or may not be native. There are an estimated 230 occurrences rangewide, which are threatened by development, rights-of way construction and maintenance, water diversion, alteration of hydrology, erosion, succession, recreational activities, invasive species, herbivory by deer and rodents, drought, and other threats in some places. Little is known about threats and trends, and monitoring populations is important to improving our understanding of the status of Sagittaria australis.
Range Extent Comments
Sagittaria australis occurs in eastern North America from New York west to Iowa, south to Louisiana, and east to Florida in the United States (FNA 2000, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024). This species was collected in Vermont in 2016, and appears to be native, but its status there needs further research (VT NHP 2017). Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are 230 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Sagittaria australis is likely threatened by development, rights-of way construction and maintenance, water diversion, alteration of hydrology, erosion, succession, recreational activities, invasive species, herbivory by deer and rodents, drought, and other threats in some places, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species (NatureServe 2025).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Sagittaria australis occurs on exposed sediments or shallow waters (up to 15 cm deep), in bottomlands, ditches, ponds, marshes, swamps, and along lake, stream, and reservoir margins, at elevations up to 488 meters (Les 2020). It tolerates both open and shaded conditions, and its preferred substrates are circumneutral (pH 6.0–7.6), such as clay loam, sandy loam, silt loam, and gravel.
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
New JerseyS1Yes
FloridaS2Yes
IndianaS3Yes
MissouriSNRYes
West VirginiaS5Yes
MississippiSNRYes
IllinoisS1Yes
KentuckyS4Yes
North CarolinaSNRYes
OhioS4Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
VirginiaS4Yes
IowaSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
DelawareS4Yes
VermontS1Yes
MarylandS4Yes
District of ColumbiaS1Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
South CarolinaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentUnknownUnknownUnknown
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownUnknown
6 - Human intrusions & disturbanceUnknownUnknownUnknown
6.1 - Recreational activitiesUnknownUnknownUnknown
7 - Natural system modificationsUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.1 - Fire & fire suppressionUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.1.2 - Suppression in fire frequency/intensityUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.2 - Dams & water management/useUnknownUnknownUnknown
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1.1 - Unspecified speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.2 - Problematic native species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.2.2 - Named speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown
9 - PollutionUnknownUnknownUnknown
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluentsUnknownUnknownUnknown
9.3.2 - Soil erosion, sedimentationUnknownUnknownUnknown
11 - Climate change & severe weatherUnknownUnknownUnknown
11.2 - DroughtsUnknownUnknownUnknown

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (1)
Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekJefferson National Forest18,274
References (12)
  1. Dodds, J. 2022. <i>Sagittaria australis</i> Rare Plant Profile. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites, State Forest Fire Service and Forestry, Office of Natural Lands Management, New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Trenton, NJ. 17 pp. [https://nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/natural/heritage/docs/sagittaria-australis-southern-arrowhead.pdf]
  2. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2000. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 22. Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in part), and Zingiberidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 352 pp.
  3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  4. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  6. Les, D. 2020. Aquatic Monocotyledons of North America: Ecology, Life History, and Systematics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 568 pp.
  7. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  8. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp.
  9. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  10. Vermont Natural Heritage Program (VT NHP). 2017. Element Subnational Tracking Form: <i>Sagittaria australis</i> in Biotics 5 database. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia (accessed 13 Oct 2025).
  11. Weakley, A.S. 2000. Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia: working draft of May 15, 2000. Unpublished draft, The Nature Conservancy, Southern Resource Office.
  12. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp.