Arrowhead Wild Edible Food

Arrowhead (Sagittaria sp.) is an edible plant that grows in shallow freshwater swampy areas. Arrowhead can be found throughout the continental USA including Alaska!

The tubers, seedpods, leaves and stalks can be edible if you concentrate on the younger stalks and leaves. The Tubers can be eaten year round the leaves are best when young, so that means the spring and early summer months. Arrowroot seedpods provide a food source in the fall. To eat the tubers peel away the outer skin. The peeled tubers are then cooked by either boiling or baking. The flower stalk should be boiled, but remember, always before the flower has begun to open. To eat the young unfurled leaves, boil them although they can be eaten if roasted as well.

Warning:There is a look alike that is poisonous. The poisonous Arrow Arum (Peltandra virginica) looks similar but can be easily distinguished by looking at the leaf veins. If there are only three, then it is toxic. If there are many leaf veins radiating outward, then it is Arrowhead and is safe to eat. If you are healthy and are leery of trying this because you don't trust your id, don't worry because the toxicity isn't so great that you can't try small amounts first to test out the plant.