''Pediomelum hypogaeum'' (also known as ''Psoralea hypogaea'') is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herb also known as the little Indian breadroot or subterranean Indian breadroot. It is found on the black soil prairies in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Growth

It has an

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

on stems 5-6 centimeters long, separate from the leaves, arising from a subterranean stem and deep carrot-shaped root that is 3–7 cm long. The long

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

d leaves are

palmate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets ...

ly divided into 5 linear-elliptic leaflets that are 3-5 centimeters long. The flowers, borne in condensed spikes separate from the leaves, are purple and pea-like, and have a surprisingly strong scent, reminiscent of lemon furniture polish. The species has edible

tuberous root Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reprod ...

s, high in

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

References

* Delena Tull (1987), ''Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest'', pgs 86-87

External links

*United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
PLANTS Profile: Pediomelum hypogaeum...subterranean Indian breadroot
*Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group
Texas Endemics: Distribution of Pediomelum hypogaeum var. scaposum
Psoraleeae Herbs Root vegetables {{Faboideae-stub