''Pediomelum cuspidatum'' (also known as ''Psoralea cuspidata'') is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herb also known as the buffalo pea, largebract Indian breadroot and the tall-bread scurf-pea. It is found on the black soil prairies in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It has an

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

on stems 18-40 centimeters long arising from a subterranean stem and deep carrot-shaped root that is 4–15 cm long. The long petioled leaves are palmately divided into 5 linear-elliptic leaflets that are 2-4 centimeters long. The flowers, borne in condensed spikes from the leaves, are light blue and pea-like.

Cultivation and uses

''Pediomelum cuspidata'' emerges in late Spring, and sets few seeds, unlike its smaller, fecund cousin '' Pediomelum hypogaeum''. The species has edible tuberous roots, although some sources describe it as 'bitter'.

References

* Delena Tull (1987), ''Edible and Useful Pants of Texas and the Southwest'', pgs 86-87 * H.D. Harrington (1967), ''Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains'', pg 206 Psoraleeae Medicinal plants Root vegetables Edible legumes Flora of Texas {{Faboideae-stub