Apios priceana
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| Price's Potato-bean | ||||||||||||||||
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| Apios priceana B.L.Robins. |
Price's Potato-bean (Apios priceana) is a climbing yellow-green vine in the legume family Fabaceae, that grows from a stout, potato-like tuber. It is native to the United States in the states of Alabama and Mississippi to Kentucky. It is listed as an endangered species.
The vines may be up to 3-5 m long with pale pink or greenish-yellow pea-like flowers which flower from mid to late summer. Each vine leaf is about 20-30 cm (8-10 in) long, with seven leaflets. Leaves are alternately arranged on the stem. The plant's large underground tuber distinguishes it from other Apios species. It was gathered as a food source by Indians and early white settlers. The pink flowers form a large fragrant bloom that grows from the leaf bases, and the fruit is a long slender pod about 10-15 cm (4-6 in) long.
The plant is usually associated with openings in the forest canopy in mixed hardwood stands where ravine slopes grade into creek or stream bottoms.
The endangered status of Price's potato bean is primarily due to habitat destruction, but other impacts such as disease, predation, and historical tuber collection have also contributed.
