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Fabaceae FAMILY

Apios americana

Apios americana

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Apios americana is a plant of the temperate zone, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 10 - 20°c, but can tolerate 8 - 30°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -40°c, though young growth can be damaged by frosts[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 700 - 1,500mm[1]. It tolerates a range of climatic conditions, producing well in cool temperate zones as well as the subtropical conditions of South Florida[2]. Prefers a light rich soil and a sunny position[3, 4]. When grown in a warm dry situation in a well-drained sandy soil, the plants will be long lived with the tuberous roots increasing in size and number each year[5]. Another report says that the plant prefers light dappled shade[6]. It tolerates acid soils[7]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8.5[1]. Dislikes windy situations[PFAF]. The groundnut has occasionally been cultivated for its edible root and has the potential to become a commercial crop[8, 9]. Cultivars have been selected in the past for higher yields and larger tubers, it is said that the yields from some of these cultivars can rival potato crops[8, 9]. Some of these cultivars are gradually becoming available in Britain[PFAF]. The best yields are obtained when the plant is left in the ground for at least two growing seasons. Yields of 30 tonnes per hectare have been achieved from weed crops growing in a field of cranberries[2]. This species has been grown in the past in S. Europe[10, 11] and has been suggested as a nitrogen-fixing edible ornamental for permaculturalists[12]. The plant forms long thin roots which enlarge at intervals along their length to form the tubers, the effect is somewhat like a necklace[PFAF]. The flowers have a scent of violets[5]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[6].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 3 hours in tepid water and sow late winter/early spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c[13]. 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. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Apios+americana>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]Handbook of Energy Crops — Duke. J. · - · 1983 · https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html · ISBN - ↩︎Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]The Vegetable Garden. — Vilmorin. A. · Ten Speed Press · ISBN 0-89815-041-8 ↩︎A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
  5. [5]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]Wonder Crops. 1987. — Natural Food Institute, ↩︎Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
  8. [8]Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. — Saunders. C. F. · Dover Publications · 1976 · ISBN 0-486-23310-3 ↩︎Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  13. [13]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  14. [14]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  15. [15]A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. — Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. · Van Nostrand Reinhold · 1982 · ISBN 0442222009 ↩︎Very readable.
  16. [16]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  17. [17]Eat the Weeds. — Harris. B. C. · Pivot Health · 1973 · ISBN - ↩︎Interesting reading.
  18. [18]Nuts. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.
  19. [19]Fruits of the Earth. — Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. ↩︎Lovely pictures, a very readable book.
  20. [20]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  21. [21]Earth Medicine, Earth Food. — Weiner. M. A. · Ballantine Books · 1980 · ISBN 0-449-90589-6 ↩︎A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
  22. [22]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  23. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎