Nipplebract arrowhead facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nipplebract arrowhead |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Sagittaria
|
| Species: |
papillosa
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Sagittaria lancifolia var. papillosa (Buchenau) Micheli |
|
The nipplebract arrowhead (Sagittaria papillosa) is a unique plant found in the south-central United States. It gets its interesting name from tiny bumps on its flowers. This plant loves wet places and can grow quite tall.
Contents
Discovering the Nipplebract Arrowhead
The nipplebract arrowhead is a special type of plant. Its scientific name is Sagittaria papillosa. It is known for its distinctive features, especially on its flowers.
Where Does This Plant Grow?
This plant is native to several states in the south-central United States. You can find it naturally in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
It loves to grow in very wet places. You might spot it in marshes, which are like swampy areas. It also grows along the banks of lakes and slow-moving streams. It needs a lot of water to thrive.
What Does It Look Like?
The nipplebract arrowhead is a perennial herb. This means it lives for more than two years and does not have a woody stem like a tree. It can grow quite tall, sometimes reaching up to 120 cm (about 4 feet) high.
Its leaf stalks, called petioles, are shaped like a triangle when you look at them from the side. The leaves themselves are long and narrow, or sometimes egg-shaped. They do not have any lobes or deep cuts.
Why Is It Special?
What makes this plant truly unique are the small bumps on its flower parts. These bumps are called papillae. They look a bit like tiny nipples, which is how the plant got its common name, "nipplebract arrowhead." These bumps help scientists tell this plant apart from other similar plants in the Sagittaria group.
