Plant Name
Scientific Name: Hoffmannseggia glauca
Synonyms: Hoffmannseggia densiflora, H. falcaria, Hoffmanseggia glauca
Common Names: Indian Rushpea, Hog Potato, Pignut, Indian Rush-Pea
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland. This weedy wildflower grows in areas of bare, disturbed soil.
Flower Color: Yellow to reddish-yellow
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer
Height: 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 cm) tall
Description: The flowers are 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide and have 5 spoon-shaped, red-spotted, glandular, yellow petals. The flowers are followed by curved bean pods. The leaves are green, alternate, and bipinnately compound with tiny, oval leaflets. The stems are red and glandular. This plant has tuberous roots and eventually forms large colonies. Pigs will uproot and eat the tubers.
Special Characteristics
Edible – The root tubers are edible if roasted.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae – Pea family
Genus: Hoffmannseggia Cav. – rushpea
Species: Hoffmannseggia glauca (Ortega) Eifert – Indian rushpea
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