Home Grown - Duck Potatoes? By Tammy Sons At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Duck Potatoes is the layman name for Sagittaria also known as arrowhead. It is one of the twenty species of the aquatic plants. It is harvested in the winter, fall, and spring of the year. It is an edible vegetable root cultivated from the wild or in places as crops in East Asia and North America. Duck Potatoes have large leaves with flowers making it easy to spot in the wild settings such as ditches, lakes, and swamps where it grows underwater.

The name is derived from the potato appearance and it grows underground. The plant has large leaves that are firm that spread about four inches wide and two feet long. The leaves taper toward the stem and grow in a fan shaped rosette from the underground rootstocks. It flowers into a white blossom having three petals. The flowers are elongated on long thick stalks about 12 inches long with an abundance of leaves.

The Duck Potatoes grow in a tubular form. The leaves are generally on the surface of the water with the remainder of the plant submerged in water. The flowers are considered unisexual with the female flowers being located at the base of the plant and the male flowers located higher on the plant.

Native Americans eat Duck Potatoes peeled, raw, boiled, or similar to a potato. It is a starchy food much like the namesake and consumed in the same fashion. It can be used to enrich flour breads or added to soups for additional nutritional values to the meals.

Native Americans also use the duck root for medical purposes to help with digestives issues. The root is grounded and used as a poultice for wound and boils. The entire plant is used for a sleep aid for children, to treat gonorrhea, constipation, and arthritis. It is also used as a means to reduced fevers in young children and babies.

The healing wonders of the plant have been used for a long time with people that know the effects. Curing the health issues with a natural alternative makes this plant sought after.

The natural beauty of the Duck Potato is well known by naturalists and the Native Americans as they see them in more frequently in the natural habitat than most people. The plants are revered for the natural healing remedies as well as the tastes of the roots often used for food by the Native Americans.

So with the economy hitting us hard, with financial times getting worse, is it now the time to invest in a home vegetable patch? Just think of all the cash that can be saved by utilizing the space you already have left over in your home garden. Turn back the clocks to times gone by and make sure that you savor the taste of duck potatoes! All duck potato plant onsite are carefully selected and come from the highest quality soils in America. Rest assured that your plant will bring perfection!

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