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Common Name:

General Information

Tropaeolum sessilifolium is a Perennial Climber up to 3.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Chile.

Habitat

Rather arid mountain slopes[]. Open stony slopes and in sand gullies near snow patches at heights around 2,200 metres in the Andes[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Perennial Climber
Height	3.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers a sunny position in a well-drained humus-rich neutral or slightly acidic loam[].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to about -5°c and is usually best grown in a cold greenhouse or conservatory[]. This rather conflicts with the plants native habitat, since it grows in mountainous areas subject to snow. This should be a cold-tolerant species, adapted to a dry summer after brief spring rain and snowmelt[]. It might be safest to lift the tubers in the autumn after the plant has been cut back by frost, store them in a cool but frost-free place over the winter and plant them out in April[]. This species is succeeding outdoors in a garden in Lanarkshire where it is being grown on a bank of sharply draining soil and under some juniper shrubs which both give it protection and act as a support for its climbing stems[].
The plant sets seed when grown outdoors, but a better set is obtained when the plants are grown under protection[].
A climbing plant, it supports itself by twisting its leaf stalks around other plants etc[].
The caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly can be a nuisance and often cause considerable damage to the leaves[].

Edible Uses

Tuber - raw or cooked[, ]. One of the best-flavoured tubers in this genus, it makes acceptable eating even when raw[]. The tubers are rather small[].

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. The seed normally germinates quite freely[].
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[]. Pot them up into individual pots and place them in light shade in a frame until they are established. Plant out in early summer.