Index
|
Search
|
Home
New Crop FactSHEET
Apios
Contributor: Berthal D. Reynolds, Department of Horticulture, Louisiana State University.
Copyright © 1995. All Rights Reserved. Quotation from this document should cite and acknowledge the contributor.
- Common Names
- Scientific Names
- Uses
- Origin
- Crop Status
- Botany
- Crop Culture
- Germplasm
- Key References
- Selected Experts
apios
groundnut
wild bean
bog potato
wild potato
Virginia potato
Indian potato
potato bean
Species: Apios americana Medikus
Family: Leguminosae
The tubers, which are high in protein and starch, may be used for food after
cooking. The large seeds are similar to peas, and are also edible. The Native
Americans in what is now eastern United States made extensive use of apios.
Apios contains some antinutrition factors, such as trypsin inhibitors, so it
should be cooked before being eaten. A few people have shown an allergic
reaction from eating apios.
Eastern North America
Apios is still a wild plant, neglected for the past 200 years. Progress in
domestication has been made and research into possible food and medicinal uses
is in progress.
Apios americana Medikus is a nitrogen fixing legume. It is a perennial
vine which grows 1-6 m in length. The vine is killed by frost but the tubers
survive winters even into southern Canada. Leaves are alternate, odd-pinnately
compound, usually with 5 to 7 leaflets. The flowers are usually pink, maroon
or brownish-red. They have typical papilionoid legume structure, are about 12
mm long and occur in compact racemes 75 to 130 mm in length. An explosive
tripping mechanism requires insects for pollination. The fruit are 50 to 130
mm long containing six to thirteen wrinkled brown seeds. The brown-skinned,
white-fleshed tubers are on underground stems (rhizomes) in branched or
unbranched series. They can vary in diameter from 1-20 cm.
Apios can be grown as an annual or as a perennial. In the wild, they are found
mainly in moist areas growing on brush for support, but may be grown in
cultivated fields without support. It is better to grow on a trellis if seed
production is desired. Weed control is important for good yields. No
herbicides are labeled for apios, so mulch or hoeing may be necessary. Usually
whole tubers are planted. The seedlings are very heterozygous, and many will
not have desirable horticultural traits. Selections of the best plants may be
maintained clonally by planting the tubers. Rhizobium for southern peas
is satisfactory for use in apios. The tubers may be left in the ground and dug
as needed or may be dug in the fall and sorted at 1-5∞C. The tubers are
approximately 50% dry matter, so may easily be dried for storage or grinding
into flour. Much research remains to be done on apios culture and utilization.
Department of Horticulture, 137 Julian C. Miller Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA
70803-2120
Department of Renewable Resources, USL, P.O. Box 44433, Lafayette, LA 70504
Grinnell Botanical Conservatory, 3016 Botanical Drive, Claremont, NC 28610
Paul Simon, Box 323, Rt. 2, Mulvane, KS 67110-9119
- Blackmon, W.J. and B.D. Reynolds. 1986. The crop potential of Apios
americana - preliminary evaluations. HortScience 21(6):1334-1336.
- Bruneau, A., and G.J. Anderson. 1988. Reproductive biology of diploid and
triploid Apios americana (Leguminosae). Amer. J. Bot. 75:1876-1883.
- Reynolds, B.D., W.J. Blackmon, E. Wickremesinhe, M.H. Wells, and R.J.
Constantin. 1990. Domestication of Apios americana. p. 436-442. In:
J. Janick and J. E. Simon (eds.). Advances in new crops. Timber Press.
Portland, Oregon.
- Seabrook, J.A. and L.A. Dionne. 1976. Studies on the genus Apios I.
Chromosome number and distribution of Apios americana and A.
priceana. Can. J. Bot. 54:2567-2572.
William J. Blackmon, Rt. 10, Box 1007, Mechanicsville, VA 23111. Telephone:
804-746-8487
Berthal D. Reynolds, Department of Horticulture, Louisiana Agricultural
Experiment Station, 137 Julian C. Miller Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
Telephone: 504-388-1030; FAX: 504-388-1068.
Contributor: Berthal D. Reynolds, Department of Horticulture, Louisiana State University.
Copyright © 1995. All Rights Reserved. Quotation from this document should cite and acknowledge the contributor.
Last update Monday, February 23, 1998 by aw