Wapato (arrowhead)
Sagittaria latifolia
Potato-like tubers from pond edges; traded up and down the Columbia for centuries.
Hardiness: zones 3 to 10
Light: full sun
Size: about 3 ft tall, 2 ft wide
Harvest: September to November
From: North America
Here: Hardy in the Lake Erie shore climate (zone 6b to 7a), so it can live outdoors in the ground.
Good for: food, wildlife.
Native to: Pacific Northwest, Northeast, Midwest & Great Lakes, Southeast, Great Plains & Texas, Eastern Canada, Western Canada. Hardy in zones 3 to 10.
The story
Wapato was the potato of the Columbia River: Chinook, Cowlitz and Kalapuya women waded into ponds and loosened the tubers with their feet, gathered them as they floated, and roasted them for trade and feasts; Sauk and Ojibwe people ate it the same way in the Great Lakes.
Planting
Full sun, a pond margin or a tub of soil under 6 inches of water; plant tubers in spring. It spreads by runners.
Growing
Keep the water up through summer; let the pond freeze over winter. Thin aggressively.
Harvest and use
Harvest tubers in autumn after the leaves die back, by loosening the mud with a fork or your feet and gathering the floaters; roast or boil like potatoes.
What to watch for
Muskrats and ducks compete; its own spread.
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General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home