prairie turnip

(Pediomelum esculentum)

Conservation Status
prairie turnip
 
  IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Prairie turnip is a 4 to 16 tall, erect, perennial forb that rises on 1 to 3 stems from a spindle-shaped or round, tuberous-thickened, deep, edible root.

The stems are erect or ascending, often zigzagged, and much branched. They are densely covered with conspicuous, spreading hairs.

The leaves are alternate and are palmately divided into 5 leaflets. They are on hairy leaf stalks, the larger leaves on stalks 1½ to 4 long.

The leaflets are narrowly inversely egg-shaped or oblong to inversely lance-shaped and are folded along the midrib. They are ¾ to 1½ long and up to about ½ to ¾ wide when flattened. The upper surface is mostly hairless. The lower surface is densely covered with long, soft, silky, appressed, white hairs.

The inflorescence is a dense, leafy, cone-shaped spike 1 to 3 long and about 1 wide rising on a stout stalk from the upper leaf axils.

The flowers are to ¾ wide and pea-like, with 5 petals organized into a broad banner at the top, 2 narrow wings, and a keel in the center formed by two petals fused together at the tip. The petals are blue.

The fruit is a densely hairy, egg-shaped pod with a beak obviously longer than the pod. It contains a single seed.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

4 to 16

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Blue

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Dry. Undisturbed prairies.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

May to July

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 28, 29, 30.

 
  5/30/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Rosanae  
 

Order

Fabales (legumes, milkworts, and allies)  
 

Family

Fabaceae (legumes)  
  Subfamily Faboideae  
  Tribe Psoraleeae (fountainbushes and allies)  
  Genus Pediomelum (breadroots and scurfpeas)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Lotodes esculentum

Psoralea brachiata

Psoralea esculenta

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

breadroot

breadroot scurfpea

breadroot scurf-pea

Indian breadroot

Indian turnip

large Indian breadroot

prairie apple

prairie potato

prairie turnip

prairie-turnip

shaggy prairie-turnip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Axil

The upper angle where the leaf stalk meets the stem.

 

Palmate

Similar to a hand. Having more than three lobes or leaflets that radiate from a single point at the base of the leaf.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 
 
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Plant

 
    prairie turnip   prairie turnip  
           
 

Inflorescence

 
    prairie turnip   prairie turnip  
           
    prairie turnip      
           
 

Leaves

 
    prairie turnip      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Pediomelum esculentum
Matt Lavin
 
  Pediomelum esculentum  
 
About

Native perennial herb, stems erect, highly branched, up to 20 cm tall, herbage glandular punctate but this obscured by hirsute vestiture, flower with sepals 5-7 mm long that continue to elongate during fruit development, pods with 1 seed, inconspicuous and concealed by the calyx, common at lower elevations in grasslands and sagebrush steppe especially in the eastern half of Montana, abundant in rangeland is well managed.

 

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Man vs. Wild - Yum! Prairie Turnip!
Discovery
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Oct 21, 2008

Check out Bear's Ten SCARY SURVIVAL moments: http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-scary-survival-moments/?smid=YTDSC-YTD-PLP

Bear Grylls demonstrates how to find and prepare this Native American survival food.

   
  Wild Foods: Prairie Turnip
Bravo Survival
 
   
 
About

Published on Jun 19, 2014

Foraging for wild foods in the Great Plains. The Prairie Turnip or psoralea esculenta is a great food that was very important to the Native American tribes in the area

   

 

Camcorder


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