Duck Potato
Duck Potato – Narrow Leaf (Sagittaria lancifolia)
Add beauty, wildlife value, and natural filtration to your pond or wetland with Narrow Leaf Duck Potato (Sagittaria lancifolia), also known as Bulltongue Arrowhead. This hardy native perennial is prized for its elegant, upright foliage, delicate white flowers, and exceptional adaptability to wet environments. This variety features long, narrow, lance-shaped leaves that create a graceful architectural accent in any aquatic landscape.
From late spring through summer, tall flower stalks rise above the foliage, displaying clusters of bright white, three-petaled blooms with golden-yellow centers. These attractive flowers draw bees and other beneficial pollinators while adding season-long color to ponds, water gardens, rain gardens, and naturalized landscapes.
Growing from strong underground rhizomes, Narrow Leaf Duck Potato forms dense colonies that help stabilize shorelines, reduce erosion, and naturally filter excess nutrients and sediment from the water. It also provides valuable habitat and shelter for fish, amphibians, aquatic insects, and other wetland wildlife.
In addition to its ornamental and ecological benefits, Narrow Leaf Duck Potato is an excellent wildlife food source. Waterfowl, including ducks, readily feed on its seeds and underground tubers, while other birds and wetland animals also benefit from the plant. The underground tubers are also edible for humans when properly prepared and have been traditionally harvested by Indigenous peoples throughout parts of its native range.
This versatile native performs beautifully in full sun to partial shade and thrives in consistently moist soil or shallow water several inches deep. It adapts well to a wide range of wetland soils and is more tolerant of mildly brackish conditions than many other species, making it an excellent choice for both freshwater ponds and coastal landscapes.
Whether you're creating a backyard pond, restoring a shoreline, building a rain garden, or enhancing a stormwater basin, Narrow Leaf Duck Potato is an outstanding choice that combines ornamental beauty with outstanding ecological benefits.
Plant Features:
Botanical Name: Sagittaria lancifolia
Common Names: Narrow Leaf Duck Potato, Bulltongue Arrowhead
Mature Height: 2–6 feet
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Water Requirements: Wet soil to shallow water
Growth Habit: Clump-forming perennial that spreads gradually by rhizomes
Bloom Time: Late spring through summer
Flower Color: White with bright yellow centers
Wildlife Benefits: Provides food and habitat for waterfowl, pollinators, fish, amphibians, and other wetland wildlife
Edibility: Underground tubers are edible when properly prepared
Native Range: Southeastern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America
Perfect for ponds, marshes, rain gardens, shoreline plantings, wetland restoration projects, and wildlife-friendly landscapes, Narrow Leaf Duck Potato is a dependable, low-maintenance aquatic plant that brings lasting beauty and environmental value to any water feature.