There is a ditch on the side of a rail-road track that I think is fed by a local polluted stream - im sure its very unhealthy.

However, this is all that live in it:

-bullfrogs
-minnows
-snapping and painter turtles
-ducks
-snails
-duckweed
-a very dark green, and thick fleshy arrowhead
-i think, if i remember, pickerel-rush - but i dont really remember


since frogs thrive in it, i dont think its all that toxic...

what i want to do is go in there and pull up a couple arrowheads - its a sort of waste land site and no one would care if i do so.

is there something i can do to assure that what ever is in the flesh of the plant rootstock (bulbs?) can be cleansed before i put it in my pond in the spring.

I was thinking of pulling up the root stock now, and thoroughly rinsing and rinsing it
and then putting it in some salt and then potasium promag.

however, i dont know what is stored in the flesh - the concern it that metals and toxins from run off might have been accumulating in the plants root stock - and i am not educated enough to know whether this is in anyway a signficant concern - otherwise, id put em in the pond...

"what i want to do is go in there and pull up a couple arrowheads - its a sort of waste land site and no one would care if i do so."

I have to state that by law, you have to get the permission of the land owner. I'm sure someone does care. You could get into trouble if you're caught.

"is there something i can do to assure that what ever is in the flesh of the plant rootstock (bulbs?) can be cleansed before i put it in my pond in the spring."

A dip in a potassium permanganate solution may kill some snails, bugs, etc. Dilute bleach will as well but could kill the plants too. The same goes for salt. There really isn't anything you can put the plant in to kill everything but the plant. You can soak it in fish medications for parasites to try to kill those.

"I was thinking of pulling up the root stock now, and thoroughly rinsing and rinsing it and then putting it in some salt and then potasium promag. "

That might work.

"however, i dont know what is stored in the flesh - the concern it that metals and toxins from run off might have been accumulating in the plants root stock - and i am not educated enough to know whether this is in anyway a signficant concern - otherwise, id put em in the pond..."

As far as organic and inorganic chemicals that have been absorbed up into the plant, you can't do anything to remove those. You can only remove things that aren't now part of the plant. As you said, since the area has a good amount of wildlife, the water can't be that polluted. If there is any doubt, either don't use the plants or grow them out in a smaller pond and later take the new growth offshoots from the plant to put in your main pond so that the parent root stock is not used.