Tropaeolum patagonicum
Speg.
Tropaeolaceae
The Temperate Database is in the process of being updated, with new records being added and old ones being checked and brought up to date where necessary. This record has not yet been checked and updated.
Common Name:
General Information
Tropaeolum patagonicum is a perennial plant that can grow up to 0.15 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
69- Title
- Flora of Tierra del Fuego.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Moore. D. M.
- Publisher
- Anthony Nelson.
- Year
- 1983
- ISBN
- 0-904614-05-0
- Description
- Standard work for this part of S. America. Excellent details of habitat and a few notes on plant uses.
Range
Southern S. America - Chile. Argentina.
Habitat
Mud or open wet grassland, especially in seasonally dry shallow lakes, between latitudes 42 and 54°south[
69- Title
- Flora of Tierra del Fuego.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Moore. D. M.
- Publisher
- Anthony Nelson.
- Year
- 1983
- ISBN
- 0-904614-05-0
- Description
- Standard work for this part of S. America. Excellent details of habitat and a few notes on plant uses.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.15 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Prefers a sunny position in a well-drained humus-rich neutral or slightly acidic loam[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
This species is unlikely to be hardy in the colder areas of the country, but the tubers can probably be lifted in the autumn after the plant has been cut back by frost, stored in a cool but frost-free place over the winter and planted out in April[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
A climbing plant, it supports itself by twisting its leaf stalks around other plants etc[
219- Title
- Gardening on Walls
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V.
- Publisher
- Collins
- Year
- 1983
- ISBN
- 0-00-219220-0
- Description
- A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
].
Sometimes cultivated for its edible root in S. America[
69- Title
- Flora of Tierra del Fuego.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Moore. D. M.
- Publisher
- Anthony Nelson.
- Year
- 1983
- ISBN
- 0-904614-05-0
- Description
- Standard work for this part of S. America. Excellent details of habitat and a few notes on plant uses.
].
The caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly can be a nuisance and often cause considerable damage to the leaves[
219- Title
- Gardening on Walls
- Publication
-
- Author
- Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V.
- Publisher
- Collins
- Year
- 1983
- ISBN
- 0-00-219220-0
- Description
- A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
].
Edible Uses
Tuber - cooked[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
61- Title
- A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Usher. G.
- Publisher
- Constable
- Year
- 1974
- ISBN
- 0094579202
- Description
- Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
,
105- Title
- Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
- Publisher
- Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
- Year
- 1976
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
]. They are used like potatoes[
177- Title
- Plants for Human Consumption.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Kunkel. G.
- Publisher
- Koeltz Scientific Books
- Year
- 1984
- ISBN
- 3874292169
- Description
- An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
].
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. Prick the seedlings out into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division of the tubers in the autumn or spring. In cold winter areas the tubers can be harvested in the autumn after top-growth has died down and they can then be stored in a cool frost-free position until planting them out in the spring.
Cuttings of basal stems in the spring[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Pot them up into individual pots and place them in light shade in a frame until they are established. Plant out in early summer.
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Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
