Tropaeolum patagonicum
Speg.
Tuber nasturtium
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Summary
A dwarf perennial reaching 0.2 m tall. Frost tender. Hermaphroditic. Grows in light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with mildly acidic to neutral pH. Requires full sun and prefers moist to wet soil conditions.
Description
A dwarf perennial reaching 0.2 m tall. Frost tender. Hermaphroditic. Grows in light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with mildly acidic to neutral pH. Requires full sun and prefers moist to wet soil conditions.
Edible Uses
The tubers are cooked and used in the same way as potatoes.
Traditional Uses
The tubers are boiled or fried and eaten. The young leaves are cooked and eaten. The flowers are eaten.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
None known.
Distribution
It is a temperate plant. It occurs in southern Patagonia.
Where It Grows
Argentina, Chile, South America,
Cultivation
Prefers a sunny position in a well-drained humus-rich neutral or slightly acidic loam. This species is unlikely to be hardy in the colder areas of the country, but the tubers can probably be lifted in the autumn after the plant has been cut back by frost, stored in a cool but frost-free place over the winter and planted out in April. A climbing plant, it supports itself by twisting its leaf stalks around other plants etc. Sometimes cultivated for its edible root in S. America. The caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly can be a nuisance and often cause considerable damage to the leaves.
Propagation
Sow seed in early spring in a greenhouse. Prick seedlings into individual pots once large enough to handle and grow on in the greenhouse through their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Divide tubers in autumn or spring; in cold-winter areas, harvest tubers in autumn after top-growth has died down, store in a cool frost-free place, and plant out in spring. Basal stem cuttings can be taken in spring, potted individually, placed in light shade in a frame until established, then planted out in early summer.
Other Uses
None known.
Other Information
It is sometimes cultivated for its edible tubers.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Ano, Anu, Anya
References (4)
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 883 (As Trophaeastrum patagonicum)
- Mansfeld, (As Trophaeastrum patagonicum)
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/ (As Tropaeolum patagonicum)
- Sanchez-Monge, 1981, (As Trophaeastrum patagonicum)
