Wapato aka Arum-leaf Arrowhead (Sagittaria cuneata)

Young Creek, Rooster Rock State Park, Columbia Gorge, OR, 8/2013.

Different varieties of this shallow-water plant can be found throughout the U. S. The flowers seen here are male, with a cluster of yellow stamens at the center. Female flowers have a half-sphere of greenish pistils at their center, and are sometimes below the males on the same stalk, or on different stalks. Native Americans used the underwater rhizome of this plant medically, while early settlers cooked and ate it, calling it “Duck Potato.” Russ Jolley, author of Wildflowers of the Columbia Gorge, and one of our personal heroes, was instrumental in leading a letter-writing campaign to save the Wapato from cattle grazing at Rooster Rock, according to this bio from the Oregon Native Plant Society.