American groundnut

Browse All American groundnut Recipes

Name Variations

 * potato bean
 * hopniss
 * Indian potato

About American groundnut
The American groundnut (Apios americana), not to be confused with other plants sometimes known by the name groundnut,is a perennial vine native to eastern North America, and bears edible beans and large edible tubers. It grows to 3–4 m long, with pinnate leaves 8–15 cm long with 5–7 leaflets. The flowers are red-brown to purple, produced in dense racemes. The fruit is a legume (pod) 6–12 cm long.

The tubers are crunchy and nutritious, with a high content of starch and especially protein. The plant was one of the most important food plants of pre-European North America, and is now being developed for domestication.