Hog Peanut Amphicarpaea bracteata
Sept 7, 2020 14:41:48 GMT -6
macmex, heavyhitterokra, and 1 more like this
Post by raf on Sept 7, 2020 14:41:48 GMT -6
Hog Peanut
These are flowering on our place right now so thought I'd say a little about them.
I typically find them in dappled shade, they're very fragile looking plants. The stems look like dark colored monofilament fishing line. The flowers are tiny (the size of a man's pinky nail) and for some reason they're generally hidden.
Hog peanut reproduces by two methods.
The raceme flowers will mature into tiny pods with 2-3 beans per pod.
Of more interest to foragers are the pegs that are put down, between the leaf mold & soil typically, these are the "hog peanuts". Each hog peanut is about the size of a cooked pinto bean, the taste is nutty as is the texture.
To prepare them all that needs to be done is wash the peanut like skin from them. They can be eaten as is or added to stews (traditional method).
There is a legend that has been told about the hog peanuts.
Choctaws enjoyed hog peanuts but they were labor intensive to harvest a good number of them. So the Choctaw would raid the nests of pack rats since pack rats also gather hog peanuts. Since the winter stores of the pack rats were raided the "raiders" would leave a handful of corn in exchange so the pack rats wouldn't be left in a bad situation.
I found a few more plants of note in flower today, I'll try to post about them soon in the event others want to look for them in their short flowering window.
These are flowering on our place right now so thought I'd say a little about them.
I typically find them in dappled shade, they're very fragile looking plants. The stems look like dark colored monofilament fishing line. The flowers are tiny (the size of a man's pinky nail) and for some reason they're generally hidden.
Hog peanut reproduces by two methods.
The raceme flowers will mature into tiny pods with 2-3 beans per pod.
Of more interest to foragers are the pegs that are put down, between the leaf mold & soil typically, these are the "hog peanuts". Each hog peanut is about the size of a cooked pinto bean, the taste is nutty as is the texture.
To prepare them all that needs to be done is wash the peanut like skin from them. They can be eaten as is or added to stews (traditional method).
There is a legend that has been told about the hog peanuts.
Choctaws enjoyed hog peanuts but they were labor intensive to harvest a good number of them. So the Choctaw would raid the nests of pack rats since pack rats also gather hog peanuts. Since the winter stores of the pack rats were raided the "raiders" would leave a handful of corn in exchange so the pack rats wouldn't be left in a bad situation.
I found a few more plants of note in flower today, I'll try to post about them soon in the event others want to look for them in their short flowering window.
