This native aquatic perennial, one of two with similar common names, grows up to 4 feet tall and erect. The arrow-shaped leaves may reach a length of 2 feet. Those in deeper water often have narrow lobes of equal length.  Showy white flowers are arranged in whorls of three, the lower ones female and the upper ones male. Male flowers with their pollen bearing anthers have yellow centers (A,C,D) while the females have a bulbous green center composed of confluent carpels (A).  Directly beneath each flower whorl are lance-shaped bracts the color of straw (B).  They separate it from its more common look-alike, Midwestern Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), which has shorter, boat-shaped bracts.