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Arrowroot

Maranta arundinacea, Marantaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Bermuda Arrowroot, St Vincent Arrowroot and West Indian Arrowroot.

Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea), the whole plant.
Manuspanicker, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. NC State Extension publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Partial Shade
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Water
Good Drainage, Moist, Occasional Flooding
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Clay, Loam (Silt), Sand; pH Acid (<6.0)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No record of poisoning in people is listed for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Arrowroot bears small white flowers and mid-green leaves and grows in part shade beside or at the edges of water.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
By division or seed.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

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Close view of Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) foliage.
Close upNoblevmy at Malayalam Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) growing in a pot.
In a potRinger, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Maranta arundinacea, also known as arrowroot, maranta, West Indian arrowroot, obedience plant or Bermuda arrowroot is a large, perennial herb found in rainforest habitats of the Americas, but cultivated in tropical regions worldwide.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Mexico to Trop. America
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Mexico to Tropical America
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
perennial
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial; habit erect
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 12–60 in; width 12–60 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers white; blooms in spring, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

The root provides starch, which can be taken internally against swallowed poison or applied externally to draw poison from a wound. Because it digests easily, it can be given to infants, invalids and people allergic to wheat. The rhizome yields a fine starch used in pastries and to thicken sauces and soups.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Maranta

More of the Marantaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.