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Tropaeolum patagonicum

Common name:		Family:	Tropaeolaceae
Author:	Speg.	Botanical references:	69
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Southern S. America - Chile. Argentina.
Habitat:	Mud or open wet grassland, especially in seasonally dry shallow lakes, between latitudes 42 and 54°south[69].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Geraniales. Nasturtium family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.15m. It is frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

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

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Root.

Tuber - cooked[46, 61, 105]. They are used like potatoes[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a sunny position in a well-drained humus-rich neutral or slightly acidic loam[200].
This species is unlikely to be hardy in the colder areas of the country, but the tubers can probably be lifted in the autumn after the plant has been cut back by frost, stored in a cool but frost-free place over the winter and planted out in April[200].
A climbing plant, it supports itself by twisting its leaf stalks around other plants etc[219].
Sometimes cultivated for its edible root in S. America[69].
The caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly can be a nuisance and often cause considerable damage to the leaves[219].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. Prick the seedlings out into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division of the tubers in the autumn or spring. In cold winter areas the tubers can be harvested in the autumn after top-growth has died down and they can then be stored in a cool frost-free position until planting them out in the spring.
Cuttings of basal stems in the spring[200]. Pot them up into individual pots and place them in light shade in a frame until they are established. Plant out in early summer.

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.
[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

[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.

[69] Moore. D. M. Flora of Tierra del Fuego. Anthony Nelson. 1983 ISBN 0-904614-05-0
Standard work for this part of S. America. Excellent details of habitat and a few notes on plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

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.