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NAME: Wild Potato Vine

SPECIES / FAMILY:  Ipomoea Pandurata / Convolvulaceae

OTHER COMMON NAME(S): 

CONDITIONS: sun, moist soil
 

PARTS:	EDIBLE	TASTE	RAW/COOK	SEASON
All
Shoots
Leaves
Stalk/Stem
Buds
Flowers
Fruits
Pods
Seeds
Nuts
Roots	young	sweet potato	COOK	Oct/Nov
Bark

 

PORTION: small-medium

 

COMMENT: Root - cooked. The young ones are best, they become very acrid as they get old. The roots can be up to 75cm long and 12cm in diameter and can weigh 7 kilos. Roots weighing 10 kilos or more are not unknown. They are best if given a long roasting. Roasted roots taste like sweet potato but with some bitterness. (1)

 

Caution:(1) It has a large root that can be eaten if cubed and boiled in at least two changes of water. Never eat it raw.(2) Seeds poisonous (4)

 

NUTRITION/MEDICINAL:  Cathartic;  Diuretic;  Expectorant.(1)

 

LOOK-A-LIKES:   "There are roughly 100 species of wild potatoes; the exact number is always in flux as the taxonomy changes." https://www.cultivariable.com/instructions/potatoes/how-to-grow-wild-potatoes

 

POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES: 

 

OTHER USES: Repellent. An infusion of the plant has been used for soaking sweet potatoes in order to keep away bugs and moles.(1)

 

SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):

1. https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ipomoea+pandurata
2. http://www.eattheweeds.com/ipomoea-water-land-see-in-gardens
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_pandurata
4. http://thedewberry.blogspot.com/2012/06/man-of-earth-or-wild-potato-vine.html
5. https://www.plantsmap.com/organizations/24861/plants/36902