Silver Creek Nursery Ltd.
American Groundnut
American Groundnut
Species: Apio americana
History: American Groundnut (aka hopniss, potato bean, and hodoimo) is a native vine found from southern Canada down to Florida and west to Colorado. They are an important traditional food amongst indigenous peoples within its range and were introduced to European colonizers by these peoples. American Groundnuts failed to take off as a crop in Europe or colonized North America, although there have been efforts since the late 1900s to develop and promote cultivars in the US. Curiously, the only place where American Groundnuts are an important commercial crop is in Japan where it has become an important part of the Aomori Prefecture culinary scene following its introduction during the Meiji Period.
Why We Grow It: Although American Groundnuts have failed to gain much traction in the West, they are a great addition to the garden whether you are looking for a unique edible perennial or an ornamental plant. The shoots and seed pods are edible but American Groundnut is best known for the small tubers that grow in a bead-like manner along the roots. They are relatively small and taste similar to a potato but with more nuttiness. Like a potato, they can be used in a variety of ways! The unique burgundy flowers also make them appealing ornamentally. Just keep in mind that these vines can be quite vigorous and will spread!
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Cooking, ornamental
Fruit Size:
Storage: Keeps for a few months when stored in cool, humid conditions
Harvest: Fall (after a couple of frosts) or spring (once the ground has thawed)
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4
Soil Preference: Prefers moist areas with sandy or gravelly loam
Flowering Time: Summer
Bloom Colour: Burgundy
Pollination Requirements:
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Partial shade to full sun (approx. 6-10 hours of sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Vine, reaches 1-6m in length, vigorous
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
American groundnut comes as the following grade:
-Root Chunk (10 pack) - each tuber is approximately 1-4cm long
Our bareroot perennial vegetables are sold as root crowns or tubers and will often have little to no vegetative growth on them.
Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the plants are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.
Like with our other plants, we recommend planting our perennial vegetables dormant so the transplanting process is less stressful on them. As a result, they may not look like much when you receive them but they tend to start growing fairly quickly.
Couldn't load pickup availability
Share
