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Pachyrhizus ahipa

Common name:	Ahipa	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	(Wedd.)Parodi.	Botanical references:
Synonyms:	Dolichos ahipa (Wedd.)
Known Hazards:	The seed and green parts of the plant contain an insecticide (probably rotenone) and might be poisonous to people[196].
Range:	S. America.
Habitat:	Not known in a truly wild situation.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Pachyrrhizus ahipa[HORTIPLEX]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Yam Bean [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.5m. It is frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Root; Seedpod.

Root - raw or cooked[2]. Thirst quenching and nutritious with an easily digested starch[196]. The root is slow to discolour and remains crisp after slicing so it is often used in green and in fruit salads[196].
Young seed pods - cooked and used like French beans[1, 46, 61]. The pods must be thoroughly cooked in order to remove the toxic principle rotenone[200]. It is thought that some varieties might be free of rotenone and their mature seeds could therefore be used as a protein crop[196].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Insecticide.

The plant contains rotenone, the active ingredient in the insecticide 'derris', and it has the potential to be used as an insecticide[200]. Derris is a relatively safe insecticide in that it does not affect warm-blooded animals and also breaks down into harmless substances with 24 hours of being used. It does, however, kill some beneficial insects and is also toxic to fish and amphibians[K].

Cultivation details

Prefers a light rich well-drained sandy soil[196].
Sometimes cultivated for its edible root in the Andes[196], this plant is not frost hardy but could possibly be grown as a summer crop in cool temperate zones. There are some named varieties[196]. When grown for its root the flowers should be removed, this is thought to increase the size of roots by up to 100%[196]. The plant is day-neutral and so is much more likely to produce tubers in this country than the related jicama, Pachyrrizus tuberosus[196]. It has produced good yields when grown in a greenhouse in Denmark[196]. A faster-maturing plant than the jicama, it flowers in about 10 weeks from seed and the root is harvested after 5 - 6 months[196].
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[200].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into individual pots of rich soil and grow them on fast. Plant them out after the last expected frosts. Give the plants some protection, such as a cloche, until they are growing away well.
Division of the root tubers in the autumn. Store the roots in a cool but frost-free place over the winter, planting them into pots in the greenhouse in early spring and planting them out after the last expected frosts. Give the plants some protection, such as a cloche, until they are growing away well.
Cuttings.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Pachyrrhizus ahipa (a possible synonym).

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[196] Popenoe. H. et al Lost Crops of the Incas National Academy Press 1990 ISBN 0-309-04264-X
An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.