U.S. Also whapto, wapto, wapito, wapato(o, wapata. [a. Cree wapatowa white mushroom.] The tubers of the plant Sagittaria variabilis, used for food by Indians.
1807. P. Gass, Jrnl., 160. We got some dogs and roots from the natives. The roots … are called whapto; resemble a potatoe when cooked, and are about as big as a hen egg. Ibid., 170. We … procured a few roots, called Wapto.
1814. Lewis & Clark’s Exped. (1893), 693. Here he treated us with a root … which they call wappatoo.
1838. Parker, Exploring Tour beyond Rocky Mts., 223. The wappatoo is the sagittaria, or arrow-head…. The root is bulbous, and becomes soft by roasting, forming a nourishing and agreeable food.
1841. Catlin, N. Amer. Ind. (1844), II. xlviii. 113. The wapito, a bulbous root much like a turnip.
1893. E. Coues, in Lewis & Clark’s Exped., 824, note. The wappatoo is the root of Sagittaria variabilis,… the common arrowhead.
