Perideridia pringlei
(J. M. Coult. & Rose) A. Nelson
Adobe yampah
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Description
A temperate herbaceous plant in the Apiaceae family with edible tuberous roots.
This description is brief — help expand it
Edible Uses
The roots are peeled and boiled or roasted before eating.
Traditional Uses
The roots are peeled and boiled and eaten. They can also be roasted.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Known Hazards
Plains Indians named the plant 'Yampah' and consumed its starchy bulbs, some of which taste like carrots. Perideridia gairdneri was an important staple crop of Native Americans in Western North America. The nutlike roots of the plant are crunchy and mildly sweet, and resemble water chestnuts in texture and flavor. Yampah roots were either baked or steamed, and were reported to have excellent flavor and nutritional qualities. The seeds of yampah were used as a seasoning and resemble caraway seeds in flavor. Yampah roots contain rapidly assimilatable carbohydrates, and were used by hunters and runners as a high energy food to enhance physical endurance. Uncooked yampah roots are a gentle laxative if consumed in excess and were used medicinally for this purpose. It resembles the highly toxic poison hemlock and water hemlock.
Distribution
It is a temperate plant.
Where It Grows
North America, USA,
Synonyms
References (2)
- Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 387
- Stromberg, M. R. et al, California Grasslands: Ecology and Management. p 63
