Sagittaria cuneata

Sheldon

Wapatum Arrowhead

G5Secure Found in 42 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.132174
Element CodePMALI04060
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderAlismatales
FamilyAlismataceae
GenusSagittaria
Other Common Names
arumleaf arrowhead (EN) Arumleaf Arrowhead (EN) Northern Arrowhead (EN) Sagittaire cunéaire (FR)
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.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-01-13
Change Date1988-02-11
Edition Date2025-01-13
Edition AuthorsN. Ventrella (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Sagittaria cuneata is an aquatic perennial monocot occurring in shallow waters and exposed substrates of rivers, lakes, ponds, meadows, and ditches of North America from Alaska and the Northwest Territories south through California, west to Texas, north to Nebraska, and east to New Jersey and Newfoundland and Labrador in the United States and Canada. There are over 1,000 occurrences estimated rangewide, which are threatened by development, water diversion, alteration of hydrology, erosion, succession, recreational activities, invasive species, livestock, drought, and other threats in some places, but with a large range extent, high number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, Sagittaria cuneata is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Sagittaria cuneata occurs in North America from Alaska and the Northwest Territories south through California, west to Texas, north to Nebraska, and east to New Jersey and Newfoundland and Labrador in the United States and Canada (FNA 2000, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024). 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 more than 1,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Sagittaria cuneata is threatened by development, water diversion, alteration of hydrology, erosion, succession, recreational activities, invasive species, livestock, 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 cuneata occurs in still or slow-moving waters (up to 1.2 meters deep) and exposed substrates in a variety of wetland habitats, including backwaters, beaches, bogs, fens, canals, ponds, swamps, meadows, roadsides, and along the margins of lakes, rivers, and streams, up to elevations of 3048 meters (Les 2020). It is also occasionally found in tidal waters (FNA 2000). Leaves are highly polymorphic, and this species produces linear or sagittate emergent leaves in shallow water and phyllodial submerged or cordate/sagittate floating leaves in deeper water (Les 2020). It can tolerate a range of exposures, from full sun to shade, and tends to occur in moderately alkaline to calcareous waters (pH 6.8–8.9), on a variety of acidic or brackish substrates.

Reproduction

Seeds are dispersed by water and via their adherence to various animals (Les 2020).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest EdgeGrassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
LabradorS1Yes
Northwest TerritoriesS4Yes
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
Yukon TerritoryS3Yes
British ColumbiaS5Yes
AlbertaS5Yes
QuebecS5Yes
OntarioS5Yes
New BrunswickS5Yes
Island of NewfoundlandSNANo
ManitobaS5Yes
SaskatchewanS4Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
OklahomaS2Yes
OhioS1Yes
VermontS3Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
MassachusettsS2Yes
OregonSNRYes
IllinoisS4Yes
IdahoSNRYes
WashingtonSNRYes
AlaskaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS1Yes
NevadaS3Yes
TexasSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
New HampshireS1Yes
MichiganSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
IowaS3Yes
New JerseyS1Yes
WisconsinSNRYes
ArizonaSNRYes
New MexicoSNRYes
CaliforniaSNRYes
MontanaS4Yes
KansasS3Yes
ConnecticutS1Yes
WyomingS4Yes
MaineSNRYes
South DakotaSNRYes
ColoradoS4Yes
NebraskaSNRYes
UtahSNRYes
Threat Assessments

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (42)
California (11)
AreaForestAcres
Black CinderLassen National Forest239
Caples CreekEldorado National Forest17,854
Crane Mtn.Modoc National Forest1,269
DardanellesEldorado National Forest8,110
Heart LakeLassen National Forest9,349
MayfieldLassen National Forest14,444
Mt. BidwellModoc National Forest11,687
Mt. VidaModoc National Forest7,771
Raymond PeakEldorado National Forest2,518
Tragedy - Elephants BackEldorado National Forest20,866
Trail LakeLassen National Forest1,124
Minnesota (2)
AreaForestAcres
Elmwood IslandChippewa National Forest42
Wood LakeSuperior National Forest596
Montana (7)
AreaForestAcres
Big Snowy Mountains WsaLewis and Clark National Forest88,003
Buckhorn Ridge (MT)Kootenai National Forest34,716
Freezeout MountainBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest97,305
Marston Face # 172Kootenai National Forest9,098
Saddle Mountain #168Kootenai National Forest14,675
Tenderfoot - Deep CreekLewis and Clark National Forest85,614
West Big HoleBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest133,563
New Mexico (2)
AreaForestAcres
El InviernoSanta Fe National Forest29,927
LemitasSanta Fe National Forest8,129
Oregon (6)
AreaForestAcres
Bulldog RockWillamette National Forest559
Bulldog RockUmpqua National Forest6,056
Crane MountainFremont National Forest23,096
W. BoundaryWinema National Forest2,345
Waldo - MoolackWillamette National Forest1,183
West - South BachelorDeschutes National Forest25,994
Utah (7)
AreaForestAcres
418026Uinta National Forest14,038
418027Uinta National Forest13,884
Fishlake MountainFishlake National Forest25,217
MytogeFishlake National Forest8,286
Stump CreekCaribou National Forest355
Swan Creek MountainWasatch-Cache National Forest9,390
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
Wyoming (7)
AreaForestAcres
Grayback RidgeBridger-Teton National Forest295,113
Little BighornBighorn National Forest133,949
Middle ForkShoshone National Forest51,772
Monument RidgeBridger-Teton National Forest17,720
Pacific Creek - Blackrock CreekBridger-Teton National Forest24,658
Sibley LakeBighorn National Forest10,367
Walker PrairieBighorn National Forest62,434
References (8)
  1. 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.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. 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.
  5. Les, D. 2020. Aquatic Monocotyledons of North America: Ecology, Life History, and Systematics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 568 pp.
  6. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  7. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  8. 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.