Common groundnut is a native perennial vine in the bean family and is found in tidal and non-tidal marshes, wet thickets, stream banks and bottomland forests. It has edible fruits and large edible tubers that provide numerous health benefits. Although the fruit and seeds are edible, it is the tuber that is most desirable but the only place it is cultivated as a food crop is in Japan. The vine can grow 8-16 feet long. Plant tubers two to three inches deep in the early spring and mulch to stop competition from weeds and grass. Provide the young shoots with something to climb on. After one year of growth, several one-inch-thick tubers can be harvested from each plant. It will grow in sun to partial shade and needs moist conditions, preferring sandy or gravelly loams with some humus added. The vines and flowers are ornamental enough to grow for their looks but will spread to form colonies and can become weedy.
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗Reconciled to full toolbox: matched by slug to slug 'apios-americana'. Identity (id/common/scientific name) preserved from the original 87-plant Hunnicutt set; attribute data refreshed from the 59-attribute toolbox scrape.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Moist | Occasionally Wet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
6 - Vine (vertical)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Climbing
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Egg-shaped pinnately compound leaves with 5-7 leaflets up to 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. Hairs sometimes present on the paler undersides.
Flower color
Brown/Copper; Red/Burgundy
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Irregular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Maroon or reddish-brown pea-like flowers with 5 petals in compact racemes arising from leaf axils. Blooms from June to Aug.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Legume
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Fleshy dry bean-shaped legume 2-4 inches long with several seeds July to Sept.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Twining green stems
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Canada, southeastern and central U.S.A.
Distribution
AL , AR , CO , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MS , NC , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NY , OH , OK , PA , RI , SC , SD , TN , TX , VA , VT , WI , WV Canada: NB , NS , ON , PE , QC
Wildlife value
Larval host for Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus). Mammals will eat the fruits and roots.
Attracts
Butterflies; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Songbirds
Host plant for
Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)
Play value
Wildlife Food Source; Wildlife Larval Host
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Fruit; Nuts; Tubers
Harvest time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Legume
Edibility
Cooked, mature tubers are similar to a potato but have a nuttier flavor and finer texture. They also have 3 times the protein of potatoes as well as numerous other health benefits. The legume is also edible.
Uses (ethnobotany)
Native Americans used the tubers extensively for food and taught settlers how to use them.