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Alisma subcordatum - (image 1 of 1)

Taxonomy

Family: Alismataceae

Habitat

Marshes, shores, usually in shallow water.

Associates

Asclepias incarnata, Calamagrostis canadensis, Iris versicolor, Sagittaria latifolia, Typha latifolia

Distribution

VT and MA to ND, south to FL and TX.

Morphology

Herbaceous perennial from a 1-2 cm thick rhizome; leaves usually long-petiolate, the blade elliptic to broadly ovate, rounded to subcordate at the base, 3-18 cm long and 1.5-2.5 times as long as wide; scape 10-100 cm; pedicels in whorls of 3-10; sepals obtuse, 1.5-2.3 mm; petals white, 1.8-2.5 mm long, barely or scarcely longer than the sepals; style very short, 0.2-0.4 mm; achenes 15-23, 1.5-2.2 mm.

Notes

Flowers July to September

Wetland Indicator: OBL

Roots were dried and eaten by Native Americans. The roots are toxic when fresh. Similar to A. triviale but with smaller flowers, the petals about equaling the sepals.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

Peterson, L. A. 1977. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America.

Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, NY

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA

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