About the Wapato
Wapato. Sagittaria latifolia,
An aquatic plant with arrowhead-shaped leaves. The starchy tubers of this plant are eaten by ducks, muskrats and people. It was an important food for indigenous peoples and was eaten by Lewis and Clark as they travelled through Oregon. when the Lewis & Clark company were deciding where to stay for winter, in the historic vote that included York, a black slave and Sacagawea, a native woman, she favored a place near “plenty of Potas,” or wapato.