Difference between revisions of "Apios americana"

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(Ecology)
(Distribution)
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==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
This species occurs from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec, westward to Minnesota and South Dakota, southward to southern Florida and Texas.<ref name="Weakley 2015"/>
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This species occurs from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec, westward to Minnesota and South Dakota, southward to southern Florida and Texas.<ref name="Weakley 2015"/> The plant can also be found cultivated in Europe.<ref name="Bruneau & Anderson 1994'/>
  
 
==Ecology==
 
==Ecology==

Revision as of 15:59, 16 February 2018

Apios americana
Apios americana AFP.jpg
Photo by the Atlas of Florida Plants Database
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Apios
Species: A. americana
Binomial name
Apios americana
Medikus
APIO AMER DIST.JPG
Natural range of Apios americana from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common Names: common groundnut;[1] groundnut;[2][3] wild potato; Indian potato;[3]

Taxonomic Notes

Varieties: A. americana var. americana; A. americana var. turrigera[1]
Synonym: Glycine apios[1][2]

Description

A. americana is a dioeceious perennial that grows as a forb/herb or a vine.[2] As a vine it climbs and produces maroon or reddish-brown pea-like flowers in compact racemes arising from leaf axils. Leaves are green and alternate.[3]

Distribution

This species occurs from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec, westward to Minnesota and South Dakota, southward to southern Florida and Texas.[1] The plant can also be found cultivated in Europe.[4]

Ecology

Habitat

A. americana occurs in marshes (tidal and non-tidal), wet thickets, streambanks, and bottomland forests.[1]

Phenology

In the southeastern and mid-Atlantic United States, flowering occurs from June through August and fruiting from July though September.[1] On the Florida panhandle, flowering has been reported in April and June through Septemeber, peaking in August and September.[5]

Pollination

The only legitimate pollinator known for A. americana are bees of the family Megachilidae.[6]

Use by animals

The cord-like rootstalk contains edible tubers that have been eaten historically by Indians and the Pilgrims in soups, stews, or fried like potatoes. Cooked seeds can also be consumed by humans.[3]

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Weakley AS (2015) Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 USDA NRCS (2016) The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 16 February 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Plant database: Apios americana. (16 February 2018) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. URL: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=APAM
  4. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Bruneau & Anderson 1994'
  5. Nelson G (16 February 2018) PanFlora. Retrieved from gilnelson.com/PanFlora/
  6. Bruneau A, Anderson GJ (1994) To bee or not to bee?: The pollination biology of Apios americana (Leguminosae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 192:147-149.