The Eskimo potato is a type of edible plant that grows in the northern areas of Canada and Alaska. The plant's scientific name is variously attributed as either ''

Claytonia tuberosa ''Claytonia tuberosa'', commonly known as Beringian springbeauty or tuberous springbeauty, () is a species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae. It is a perennial herb indigenous to Alaska, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and the ...

'' (Inuit: ''oatkuk'') or ''

Hedysarum alpinum ''Hedysarum alpinum'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name alpine sweetvetch. It is called ''masu'' in the Iñupiaq language. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitude ...

'' (Inuit: ''mashu''Heller, Christine A. and Edward M. Scott. ''The Alaska Dietary Health Survey'' 1956-1961. US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service
p 180
). Both species have a range in the northern area of North America, have

edible root Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans as food. Although botany distinguishes true roots (such as taproots and tuberous roots) from non-roots (such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers, although some contain both hypocotyl a ...

s, and have been documented to have been used as a food source by

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

. Due to its nutritional qualities, the eskimo potato is one of many edible foods listed in survival guides, such as the US Army's field manual ''Survival'',United States Army
Field Manual 3-05.70
May 2002. p B-50. and is used in modern times to subsist in nature. Hedysarum alpinum

Christopher McCandless Christopher Johnson McCandless (; February 12, 1968 – August 1992), also known by his pseudonym "Alexander Supertramp", was an American adventurer who sought an increasingly nomadic lifestyle as he grew up. McCandless is the subject of '' Int ...

used the plant as a food source in the Alaska wilderness.Bryson, George
"Theories differ on the cause of McCandless' death"
Anchorage Daily News. October 8th, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2011.

References

Inuit cuisine Potatoes Plant common names {{Alaska-stub