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• Peltandra virginica

Peltandra virginica — green arrow-arum

Facts

Green arrow-arum is a wetland plant of the eastern United States, absent from Northern New England. It is pollinated by a chloropid fly (Elachiptera formosa) that deposits its eggs in the inflorescence. The emerging larvae feed on the rotting pollen-producing portion of the spadix. The fruits and seeds are eaten by waterfowl and migratory birds. Early historical accounts describe Native Americans of the mid-Atlantic region making much use of the plant's large, starchy rhizomes as a staple food, but only after considerable processing to detoxify compounds that produce a burning sensation in the mouth when this plant is eaten raw.

Habitat

Lacustrine (in lakes or ponds), riverine (in rivers or streams), shores of rivers or lakes, swamps, wetland margins (edges of wetlands)

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  NA

  Flower bract length

  0 mm

  Flower bracts

  there are no bracts associated with the flower

  Flower number

  3–900

  Flower petal color

  NA

  Flower petal length

  0 mm

  Flower shape

  NA

  Flower symmetry

  NA

  Form of style

  the style is knob-like at the tip, and unbranched

  Fringed petal edges

  NA

  Hairs on flower stalk

  NA

  Inflorescence hair glands

  the axis of the inflorescence has no hairs on it

  Inflorescence length

  70–250 mm

  Inflorescence type

  • the inflorescence differs from the choices given
  • the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)

  Length of flower stalk

  0 mm

  Length of peduncle

  200–560 mm

  Marks on petals

  NA

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  1

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of sepals and/or petals

  there are no petals, sepals or tepals in the flower, or they are not clearly present

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes neither petals nor sepals

  Petal appearance

  NA

  Petal base

  NA

  Petal fusion

  NA

  Petal hairs on inner/upper surface

  NA

  Petal nectaries

  NA

  Sepal appearance

  NA

  Sepal length

  0 mm

  Sepal orientation

  NA

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  NA

  Spathe

  the plant has a spathe surrounding the flower spike

  Spathe form

  the spathe encloses or nearly encloses the spike of flowers

  Spathe length

  100–200 mm

  Stamen number

  • 4
  • 5

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are fused to one another at or near their bases

  Stamens fused outwards

  NA

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  NA

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  • brown
  • green
  • purple
  • red

  Capsule ridges

  NA

  Fruit cross-section

  the fruit is round in cross-section

  Fruit length

  10–18 mm

  Fruit stalk orientation

  NA

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is fleshy

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)

  Fruit width

  6–16 mm

  Other markings on berry

  the ripe fruits have spots or streaks on them

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is milky and opaque, and may be white or colored

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Root septa

  the roots do not have transverse septa

  Underground organs

  the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  basal: the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades are lobed at their bases

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)

  Leaf blade base shape

  The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes) or sagittate (arrow-shaped, with pointed, backward-facing lobes)

  Leaf blade bloom

  • the underside of the leaf blade has a noticeable waxy or powdery bloom
  • the underside of the leaf blade has no noticeable waxy or powdery bloom

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  90–570 mm

  Leaf blade orientation

  the upper surface of the leaf blade faces the stem of the plant

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped with backward-facing rounded lobes), or sagittate (arrow-shaped with backward-facing pointed lobes)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is rounded, with no point

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are palmate, (and do not arch towards the leaf tip) or pinnate

  Leaf blade width

  25–310 mm

  Leaf stalk length

  380–980 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Leaflet number

  0

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  • aquatic
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • edges of wetlands
  • in lakes or ponds
  • in rivers or streams
  • shores of rivers or lakes
  • swamps

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem is held upright

  Flowering stem leaves

  there are no true leaves on the flowering stem

  Stem hairs

  NA

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae