Arrowhead

Such an amazing water plant with just three ruffly petals. Lucky for me it was living near a river in a little ditch, so I didn't have to wade out into the water to get a photo. Its water source was run off from the hillside or maybe even ground water. I have read that this plant is so efficient at moving water by respiring through their leaves, that it has been taken out of reservoirs because it can lower the water levels. I have written many times of how the flowers are pollinated by bees and other insects but this one can even be pollinated by snails. The potato shaped tuber that grows in the muck can be cooked up like potatoes. Animals and people both ate these at one time. It is said that American Indians would raid Muskrat lodges to take their winter stash. Lewis and Clark wrote about them, saying that they were used for trading by the American Indians.

Where I found it : close by a river.