Apios fortunei
| Apios fortunei | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Apios fortunei
Propagation: Seed - pre-soak for 3 hours in tepid water and sow February/March in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for their first winter, planting them out in late spring or early summer.
Division can be carried out at almost any time of the year, though spring is probably the best time. Simply dig up the roots, harvest the tubers and replant them where you want the plants to grow. It is also possible to harvest the tuber in winter, store them in a cool fairly dry but frost-free place over the winter and then plant them out in the spring. The tubers lose moisture rapidly once they have been harvested, so make sure that you store them in a damp medium such as leafmold.
Cultivation: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Prefers a light rich soil and a sunny position[2][3]. Another report says that it prefers light dappled shade[4]. Tolerates acid soils[5].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[4].
Range: E. Asia - China, Japan.
Habitat: Woods and thickets, 600 - 1000 metres in W. China[6].
Edibility: Tuber - raw or cooked[7][8]. It has a delicious flavour somewhat like sweet potatoes when roasted[9]. The tuber can also be dried and ground into a powder. The tuber contains about 4.2% protein, 0.2% fat, 18.3% starch, 6% other carbohydrate, 1.3% ash[9].
Medicinal: The root is tonic[10].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Vilmorin-Andrieux. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Natural Food Institute. Wonder Crops 1987.
- ↑ Wilson, Ernest and Charles Sargent. Plantae Wilsonianae.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.