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Proboscidea fragrans

Common name:	Sweet Unicorn Plant	Family:	Martyniaceae
Author:	(Lindl.)Decne.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Proboscidea louisianica fragrans ((Lindl.)Bretting.), Martynia fragrans (Lindl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - Texas to Mexico.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. louisianica ssp. fragrans[B,P] P. louisianica subsp. fragrans[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ram's Horn [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	fragrans = fragrant proboscidea = like elephant's trunk
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Washington.

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.6m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. 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

Leaves Seed Seedpod.

Leaves - cooked as a potherb with beans[183].
The half-ripe seedpods are cooked and eaten as a vegetable[2, 183]. They are 8 - 10cm long[188].
Seed - cooked[257]. Boiled and eaten[257]. The soft immature seeds can be eaten raw, roasted or ground into a paste[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Basketry.

The ripe seedpods are used as an ornament on willow baskets[2]. The pods are softened with lye and water, split, bent and used as sewing withes in coiled basketry[257].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained porous fertile soil in a warm sheltered position[188, 200].
A frost-tender species, it can be grown outdoors in Britain as a half-hardy annual.
This species is closely related to P. louisianica[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts[200].

Suppliers

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

Web References

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

References for Martynia fragrans (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Proboscidea louisianica ssp. fragrans (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Proboscidea louisianica subsp. fragrans (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for the family Martyniaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[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.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Proboscidea+fragrans
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