Illinois Natural History Survey - University of Illinois

Peltandra virginica
Tuckahoe, Arrow arum
Taxonomy

Synonyms: Peltandra undulata

Subspecific taxa:

Classification:

  • Magnoliophyta

Other taxonomic & nomenclature sources: USDA Plants;  ITIS;  The Plant List;  IPNI

Species Distribution
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More about map & occurrence records

County Map Legend
Absent:
Not known from county
Medium confidence:
Medium or unknown confidence;
often old records or unverifiable observations
Medium-high confidence:
Often observations by expert botanists
High confidence:
Often vouchered herbarium records
Planted / introduced:
Native species introduced outside historic range,
or only in planted locations within county (e.g., restorations)
Historic / extirpated:
Only historic records for the species; likely extirpated
(Note that this category is not yet functional)

North American distribution maps for this species: FLNA;  USDA Plants;  BONAP;  BISON

Collections, Observations & Flowering by Month [?]

J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
0
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0

Collections & Observations by Decade [?]

Species Status

Status/Listing: No Information

Notes:

Origin: Native

Species Description

General: Monocot, perennial

Roots: adventitious, fibrous, rhizomes

Shoots: basal leaf arrangment; simple leaf type; undulate leaf margin; Pinnate leaf venation; sagittate, oblique leaf shape

Inflorescence: spadix

Flowers: unisexual, monoecious; incomplete, not petals, not sepals

Fruit: berry

Physiology: autotrophic; C3 C02 fixation

Reproduction: sexual

Ecology & Natural History

Habitat: Species is distributed in shallow fresh water, slightly brackish waters, wet ditches.

ILPIN Notes: Seed company number: 1, 11 Marshbirds and shorebirds; especially wood ducks. Species is spathe tubular at both ends, opening at the middle; flowers covering all or most of the spadix. Whigham, D. F., R. L. Simpson, and M. A. Leck. 1979. The distribution of seeds, seedlings, and established plants of arrow arum (Peltandra virginica (L.) Kunth) in a freshwater tidal wetland. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 106: 193-199. Wilson, K. A. 1960. The genera of the Arales in the southeastern United States. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 41: 47-72. Goldberg, B. 1941. Life history of Peltandra virginica. The Botanical Gazette 102: 641-662. Seeds should be planted in spring or fall at 10 lbs./acre in up to 1 inch of water. The perpendicular rhizome can be eaten upon roasting or prolonged drying. The seeds can be used to make a bread (Fernald et al., 1958).

Functional Relationships:

  • Pollinators: insect, fly
  • Dispersal: water
  • Mycorrhizae:
  • N2 fixation:

Human Relationships:

  • Edibility [?] :
  • Showy Flowers:

Wildlife and Livestock Information:

  • Food Value:
  • Cover Value:

Coefficient of Conservatism (C-value) [?] :

  • Entire State: 8
  • Chicago Area: 10

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