Sagittaria guayanensis subsp. lappula

Burr Arrowhead is an aquatic or semi-aquatic herb with floating leaves. Leaves are 5-7 cm long, 6-8 cm broad, hairless; leaf-stalk up to 34 cm long, grooved, minutely hairy. Petals obovate-nearly round, yellow-spotted at the base, larger than the sepals. Stamens with about 2-3 mm long, papillate filaments. Sepals are ovate-elliptic, 8-10 mm long, 6-9 mm broad, pointed. Flower-stalks are stout, 1-2 cm long, thickened and elongated up to 3.5 cm in fruit. Flowers are borne in an unbranched scape-like raceme, up to 45 cm long, minutely hairy towards tip. Flowers occur in 2-6 whorls of 2-3 flowers each, lower whorls with bisexual, upper ones with male flowers, about 1.5 cm across, white; bracts elliptic, 8-15 mm long, blunt with membranous margins. Head of achenes about 1 cm across, achenes flat, elliptic, 3-4 mm long, with distinctly blunt toothed dorsal wing. Burr Arrowhead is widely distributed in Tropical & Subtropical Asia and Africa, It is also found in the Himalayas. Flowering: August-November.