Herb latin name: Apios priceana


Synonyms: Glycine priceana


Family: Leguminosae



Edible parts of Apios priceana:

Tuber - raw or cooked. It has a delicious flavour somewhat like sweet potatoes when roasted. The tuber can also be dried and ground into a powder. The tuber is solitary, unlike other members of this genus that produce strings of tubers. The tuber can be 15cm thick and somewhat longer.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
3 m
(9 3/4 foot)

Habitat of the herb:

Woods and thickets.

Propagation of Apios priceana:

Seed - pre-soak for 3 hours in tepid water and sow February/March in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°C. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for their first winter, planting them out in late spring or early summer. Division can be carried out at almost any time of the year, though spring is probably the best time. Simply dig up the roots, harvest the tubers and replant them where you want the plants to grow. It is also possible to harvest the tuber in winter, store them in a cool fairly dry but frost-free place over the winter and then plant them out in the spring. The tubers lose moisture rapidly once they have been harvested, so make sure that you store them in a damp medium such as leafmold.

Cultivation of the herb:

Woods and thickets.

Medicinal use of Apios priceana:

None known

Known hazards of Apios priceana:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.