Salpianthus macrodontus

Standl.

Guayavilla

Nyctaginaceae Edible: Root 112 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A bushy shrub. It grows 1-2 m tall. The crown has a flat top. The fleshy roots are 3-8 cm across and up to 1 m long. The flowers are purple with white lobes.

Edible Uses

The fleshy roots are beaten, dried, and ground into flour, then mixed with water to make tortillas.

Traditional Uses

The roots are beaten, then dried and ground into flour. It is then mixed with water to make tortillas.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows up to 600 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Mexico, North America,

Other Information

It has been a staple food in the past.

References (4)

Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 13:393. 1911
Felger, R.S., Ancient Crops for the Twenty first century, in Rickie, G.A., (ed), 1979, New Agricultural Crops, AAAS Selected Symposium 38. Westview Press, Colarado. p 10
Martin, P. S. et al, (Eds.), 1998, Gentry's Rio Mayo Plants. The Tropical Deciduous Forest & Environs of Northwest Mexico. University of Arizona Press.
Yetman, D., 2002, The Guarijios of the Sierra Madre: Hidden People of Northwestern Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. p 212