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Plant Profile

Kansas Arrowhead (Sagittaria ambigua)

Photo Caption

Photo Credit: Meg Engelhardt

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Alismataceae
State: IL, IN, KS, MO, OK
Nature Serve ID: 146599
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 11/20/2024

Description:

Sagittaria ambigua is a perennial, obligate wetland (OBL) species that can reach a height of up to 90 cm. The white flowers are up to 23 mm in diameter and arranged on racemes that consist of 2 to 11 whorls. This species has a long flowering period that begins in April and continues through September. Characterized as a pioneer species of shallow pond bottoms, S. ambigua prefers wetlands and shorelines where water levels fluctuate (Les 2020).

Where is Kansas Arrowhead (Sagittaria ambigua) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Sagittaria ambigua occurs in riparian zones, forested and herbaceous wetlands, and swamps up to 230 m in elevation (Les 2020). It can be found in sloughs and wet roadside ditches. It thrives in wet habitats where the water levels fluctuate such as shallow ponds and lakes, mudflats, and wet exposed sites in depressions.

Distribution:

There are ten occurrences in Oklahoma, half of which are older than 20 years old. In Kansas, fewer than ten occurrences that have been documented in the last 20 years. Additionally, iNaturalist shows a positively identified entry for Sagittaria ambigua in Kansas. The entry is not close to any historic population and may be a newly discovered population. Two occurrences are present in Missouri. Both of these occurrences have been documented within the past five years (MDC). Historically, populations persisted in Illinois and Indian but have not been seen in recent years.

States & Provinces:

Kansas Arrowhead can historically be found in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma

Which CPC Partners conserve Kansas Arrowhead (Sagittaria ambigua)?

Missouri Botanical Garden

Conservation Actions

Bradley Delfeld

12/23/2024

Both of the occurrences in southwest Missouri were documented recently (2020 & 2022) and were confirmed to be extant.

Bradley Delfeld

12/23/2024

In December of 2023 - after five and a half years of cold storage - Missouri Botanical Garden’s seed bank staff performed a germination test on 12 seeds. The seeds received 8 weeks of cold stratification (4°C) as a pretreatment. They were then placed on agar (0.8% Agar + 1 ppm PPM; pH adjusted between 5.6-5.8) and exposed to a 12/12 h photoperiod at 25/22°C. At the conclusion of the test, 0 seeds germinated, and 12 became moldy (0% viable).

Bradley Delfeld

12/23/2024

In December of 2023 - after five and a half years of cold storage - Missouri Botanical Garden’s seed bank staff performed a germination test on 12 seeds. The seeds received 8 weeks of cold stratification (4°C) as a pretreatment. They were then placed on agar (0.8% Agar + 1 ppm PPM; pH adjusted between 5.6-5.8) and exposed to a 12/12 h photoperiod at 30/15°C. At the conclusion of the test, 10 seeds germinated and 2 became moldy (83.33% viable).

Bradley Delfeld

12/23/2024

In December of 2023 - after five and a half years of cold storage - Missouri Botanical Garden's seed bank staff performed a germination test on 13 seeds. The seeds received 8 weeks of cold stratification (4°C) as a pretreatment. They were then placed into R.O. water and exposed to a 12/12 h photoperiod at 30/15°C. At the conclusion of the test, 5 seeds germinated, 5 became moldy, and 3 were found to be empty (50% viable, excluding the empty seeds).

Bradley Delfeld

12/23/2024

In March of 2021, after almost three years of cold storage, MBG seed bank staff x-rayed 11 seeds to inspect internal development. All 11 seeds appeared to be filled and viable.

Tina Stanley

11/20/2024

Missouri Botanical Garden holds one accession in their seed bank consisting of 670 seeds from Barton County, Missouri, collected from the wild in June 2018.