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Sagittatus

/saj-ih-TAH-tus/
🏷️ Taxonomy●● Intermediate

Also known as: sagittata, sagittatum

A leaf shape epithet describing a leaf whose base has two pointed lobes that project backward — like an arrowhead or the flight feathers of an arrow. One of the most precisely evocative of all the leaf-shape epithets. Appears as sagittatus (masculine), sagittata (feminine), or sagittatum (neuter).

Etymology

From Latin sagittatus, meaning "arrow-shaped," from sagitta (an arrow).

Example

Sagittaria sagittifolia (common arrowhead) takes both its genus and its concept from this shape, and Arum italicum has the classic sagittate leaf base that channels rainwater toward the central midrib.

Example Plant

🌿Sagittaria sagittata