Arrowhead, raw

Fun Facts

1. Arrowhead is a common sight in wetland margins in the Great Plains and elsewhere. Its name comes from the typical shape of the leaf, which can be seen in the picture above. The shape of the leaf is variable, however, and may be deeply lobed or a simple lance shape or somewhere in between. The plant usually stands about 2 feet tall and the leaf blade may be up to a foot long.
2. The flowers of Arrowhead have an interesting arrangement. They occur in a spike with the male flowers at the top of the flower stalk and the female flowers below.
3. Eight species of Sagittaria are known from the Great Plains. They differ in minor respects, but they all go by the name arrowhead. The most common and widespread is S. latifolia. It is difficult to separate one species from another.
4. Arrowheads, objects fixed to the end of a shaft and shot with a bow, are only a fairly small subset of what archaeologists call projectile points. A projectile point is a broad category of triangular pointed tools made of stone, shell, metal, or glass and used throughout prehistory and the world over to hunt game and practice warfare.