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''Psoralea esculenta'', prairie turnip is an herbaceous perennial plant native to prairies and dry woodlands of central North America, which bears a starchy tuberous root edible as a root vegetable. The plant is also known as ''Pediomelum esculentum''. English names for the plant include tipsin, teepsenee, breadroot, breadroot scurf pea, large Indian breadroot and pomme blanche. The prairie turnip was a staple food of the Plains Indians. A closely related species, ''Psoralea hypogaea'', the little breadroot, is also edible, although the plant and root are smaller. Another species, ''Psoralea argophylla'', was probably harvested for food only in times of famine.〔Kaye, Barry and Moodie, D.W. "The Psoralea Food Resource of the Northern Plains" ''The Plains Anthropologist'', Vol. 23, Pt. 1 (Nov1978), p 329〕 ==Description and range== The prairie turnip has a range on the Great Plains from Manitoba south to Texas and from Wisconsin west to Montana. It grows best in full sun on well-drained and rocky or sandy soil The plant is most commonly found on undisturbed prairie.〔(Psoalea eculenta Breadroot PFAF Plant Database ), accessed 2 Aug 2012〕 The relative scarcity of the plant today compared to its previous abundance may be because most prairie has been converted to farmland or managed grassland. The prairie turnip is a perennial, living 3 to more than 6 years.〔Stahnke, April et al, "Pediomelum esculentum" ''Native Plants'', Vol 9, No. 1 (Spr 2008), p. 56〕 In spring, several densely haired stems emerge from the ground and reach up to , bearing palmately compound leaves divided into five leaflets. In early summer the plant produces abundant blue or purple flowers in terminal clusters 5 to long, leading to flattened, slender-tipped pods. Harvest of the tubers is during flowering. The flowers and flower stalk break off and disappear soon after flowering, making the plant difficult to locate. The plant grows from one or more sturdy brown roots which form rounded, spindle-shaped tubers about 7 to below the surface, each 4 to long. The Lakota name for the plant is ''Timpsula''. The name of Topeka, the capital city of Kansas, is believed to mean a "good place to dig prairie turnips" in the Kansa and other southern Siouan languages.〔Burgess, Barbara H. D. "(Topeka's Roots: The Prairie Potato )"〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Psoralea esculenta」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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