Apios americana
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Vine
• Sunlight: Part sun to Shade
• Soils: Moist to Wet
• Bloom Time: August to September
• Size: 2-4 feet in height; up to 15 foot spread
This native vine grows in moist shade, typically on wetland margins. The roots feature edible tubers that have been used for stews or fried for hundreds of years. The inflorescence (cluster of flowers) also features tiny nectaries that provide food for ants.
Garden Companions
Turtlehead (Chelone glabra), New York Ironweed (Vernonia novaboracensis)
Nature Benefits
• Fragrant flowers and edible tubers.
• Host plant to the Silver-spotted Skipper butterfly (Epargyreus clarus)
Natural Habitat
Occurs in marshes and wetland margins, shores of rivers and ponds.