Arrowroot is an erect, flowering, herbaceous perennial, growing to 5 feet high, and native to the floor of moist evergreen or deciduous forests, often in clearings where light levels are relatively high, from Mexico to Brazil. The common name, Arrowroot, comes from its use as a poultice to remove poison from arrow wounds. Its scientific names are more prosaic. Maranta comes from Bartolomea Maranta a 16th C Italian physician and botanist. Arundinacea refers to the reed or cane-like form of the stems. Arrowroot has mid-green leaves and small white flowers and grows in partial shade near or in the margins of water. It is home to, or food for, many organisms from butterflies to microscopic ones. The rhizomatous root is a source of starch and in the early 1800s it was commercially grown in Georgia and South Carolina. It is still grown commercially on St Vincent Island in the Caribbean. Arrowroot grows best when temperatures are between 73 °F and 84 °F with an annual precipitation between 59 inches and 79 inches. Dormant rhizomes, however, can withstand temperatures as low as 41 °F. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No significant diseases or insect pests.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasional Flooding
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
The leaves are a narrow oval tapering to a point at each end.
Flower color
White
Flower form
Panicle
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
The flowers of the arrowroot are up made up a curved tube about half an inch long, ending with two large petals at the bottom and others forming a 'fan' shape across the top. In some ways it resembles a very small penstemon or gloxinia flower with its 'landing pad' for pollinators. The flowers come in pairs at the end of long thin stems about 2 inches long.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Mexico to Tropical America
Distribution
Continental United States; Central America; West Indies; Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Guyana, Peru; parts of Africa; India, Sumatra and the Philippines.
Wildlife value
This plant serves as food for the larval stage of Leguminivora glycinivorella, the Soybean Moth; Rhinthon cubana, the Cuban Skipper; Spodptera litura the moth form of Tobacco Cutworm and Cotton Leafworm; Cynea irma the Fogged Skipper; Calpodes ethlius, the Calpodes Skipper; and Saliana fusta, Suffused Salina. It is also host to a large number of fungi and bacteria.
Attracts
Butterflies
Food & Medicine
Edibility
Rhizome is a source of a high quality starch used in pastries or for thickening sauces and soup.
Uses (ethnobotany)
The root of this plant is a source of starch. This starch can be used internally against ingested poison or externally to extract poison from a wound. As it is easily digestible it can be fed to infants, invalids, and those allergic to wheat.