| Botanical name: |
Apios americana |
| Common
name: |
Ground
nut
|
| Synonomy: |
Apios americana Medik.
var. turrigera Fern.
Glycine
apios L.
|
| Group: |
Dicot
|
| Family: |
Fabaceae |
| Growth
Type: |
Vine/Forb/herb
|
| Duration: |
Perennial
|
| Plant
height: |
Up to 10 feet
|
| Foliage: |
Once pinnately-compound leaves with 5
to 7 leaflets; pods 2-4" in length.
|
| Flower
color: |
dark red
|
| Flower
size: |
1/2"
|
| Flowering/fruiting time |
Flowers early July to late August;
fruits early September, probably into October
|
| Habitat: |
Swamps and moist thickets
|
| Range in
New Jersey: |
Throughout the state.
|
| Heritage ranking if any: |
n/a
|
| Distribution |
|
| Misc.: |
USDA
lists as FACW, usually occurs in wetlands (estimated probability
67%-99%), but occasionally found in non-wetlands.
Many people are familiar with the edibilty of this plant. Its
underground stems have swellings called "groundnuts" that are edible.
Early explorers and colonists depended upon groundnut as a food source.
Colonists on Roanoke Island, later known as the "Lost Colony", sent
samples to Queen Elizabeth. We know from writings of Captain John Smith
that it was eaten in Jamestown in 1607. It was also eaten by the
Pilgrims of Plymouth Massachusetts. According to Ed Klekowski,
Professor, Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst,
"Groundnut was so important to the colonists of the Connecticut River
valley that in 1654, the town of Southampton passed a law that
prohibited Amerindians from digging groundnut on "English-Lands." The
first offense was punishable by a period in the stocks; for the second
offense, the culprit was whipped!"
Henry David Thoreau also enjoyed groundnut, preferring it better when
it was boiled than roasted.
For more information on the ethnobotany of groundnut visit Professor
Klekowski of University of Massachusett Amerherst's page on groundnut.
Apios, Greek
word meaning pear; referring to the shape of the tubers; americana, American.
|
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