Ground-nut

Common name: Ground-nut

Scientific name: Apios americana

Dimensions:
  Flower: 3/8"-1/2" (1-1.5 cm) long
  Plant height: Vine, up to 10' (3 m) long

Blooming period: July-September

Habitat: Moist woods and thickets

Description: Maroon or reddish-brown pea- shaped flowers in dense clusters on short stalks in leaf axils; keel strongly curved, horseshoe-shaped; flowers with a very sweet fragrance. Leaves 4-8" (10-20 cm) long, pinnately compound, divided into 5-7 ovate (egg-shaped), pointed leaflets. Vine climbing over and around neighboring bushes. Plant's root is a roundish, edible tuber used by the early colonists as a food source. Pea family. (July 24)