Breadroot scurf-pea
Also known as: prairie turnip, Indian breadroot, prairie potato
Images
Click on image to view full size
Morphology
- Stem
- Erect, 1-3, simple or rarely branched, densely hairy.
- Leaves
- Alternate, on hairy stalks 1 to 6 inches long, palmately 5-foliolate; leaflets elliptic to oblong lanceolate, 1 to 2 inches long, 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide, mostly glabrous above, appressed-hairy below; tips rounded, blunt or pointed.
- Inflorescence
- Racemes, spike-like, dense, about 2 inches long, 1 inch thick, on stout stalks in leaf axils.
- Flower
- Calyces bell-shaped, 5-lobed, hairy; corollas papilionaceous, to 3/4 inch long, blue, fading yellowish; stamens 10, 9 united, 1 free.
- Fruit
- Pods, egg-shaped, beaked; seeds 1, oblong, smooth, brownish.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Prairie hillsides, plains, bluffs, stream valleys, and open woodlands.
- Distribution
- Throughout except southwest corner of Kansas.
Practical Information
- Uses
- Breadroot scurf-pea probably was the most important wild food gathered by Native Americans of the Great Plains. The tuberous root can be eaten raw, cooked, or dried. By mid-summer, the leaves and stem break off and blow away. Plains tribes dug the tubers before the tops were gone and often dried them for winter use.
Additional Notes
Comments
Breadroot scurf-pea will decrease with grazing and is uncommon outside of undisturbed prairie.
Synonyms
Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.
Scientific Name: Psoralea esculenta
Full Citation: Psoralea esculenta Pursh
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Wildflower
- Family
- Fabaceae - Bean Family
- Life Span
- Perennial
- Height
- 3-12 inches
- Last Updated
- 2007-10-08
Color Groups
Blue, Purple, Lavender & Violet Wildflowers
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: May, June