| Author | Content |
Lane_S
(Zone 8b)
March 5, 2013 3:28 PM Post #9439928
| ... seen anything like them before. They range in size from the smallest like that of a strawberry to the largest like that of a small Idaho potato. I found them sitting on the top of the ground at the base of a large water oak tree in southeast Louisiana. Only small vines are growing up the trunk and I think them to be poison ivy.
There is very little evidence of a stem on the ends and the covering is dry and paper like, almost like flakes. When cut into the interior is similar to a potato and smells similar.
What are they and where do they originate from?
Click an image for an enlarged view.
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growin
Vancouver, BC (Zone 8b)
 March 5, 2013 3:31 PM Post #9439933
| Maybe Dioscorea bulbifera http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/171379/#axzz2Mi9I... |
KayJones
Panama City Beach, FL (Zone 8b)
March 5, 2013 3:55 PM Post #9439949
| Yep - that's what they are! In our zone, they spread like fire - keep an eye on them or the vines will own you! |
Larkie
Camilla, GA (Zone 8a)
March 5, 2013 3:57 PM Post #9439953
| In my zone, they are akin to Kudzu, lol
Larkie |
OldWrangler
Spring, TX
March 5, 2013 4:02 PM Post #9439959
| We got them all over Texas. We call them Merlitons. Some people who have seen them all over Louisiana call them Cajun potatoes. I have heard they are edible but I wouldn't swar to it. |
Lane_S
(Zone 8b)
March 5, 2013 4:27 PM Post #9439979
| OldWrangler wrote:We got them all over Texas. We call them Merlitons. Some people who have seen them all over Louisiana call them Cajun potatoes. I have heard they are edible but I wouldn't swar to it.
Not Merlitons. I've grown and eaten those. Not at all the same as this. |
OldWrangler
Spring, TX
March 5, 2013 4:30 PM Post #9439983
| My neighbor grows them on all his trees. He says they cook up like a squash but are a little sweeter. He says they also make a good soup linda like potato soup. There is a form of this plant that grows in Mexico that is called Chayote. A little different in shape, more pear shaped
than the Merliton but probably same family. And you can plant these and a new vine will grow. They climb trees very well and freeze back with a light frost in the fall, only to return the next spring. The leaves are big and green and quite attractive. |
Lane_S
(Zone 8b)
March 5, 2013 4:34 PM Post #9439989
| I think Growin is correct. The photos of the "Air Potato" Dioscorea bulbifera match my samples perfectly. The vine (which is now dried up and leafless in winter) I mistook for Poison Ivy must be the subject plant. Thanks for the fast replies.
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Lane_S
(Zone 8b)
March 5, 2013 4:38 PM Post #9439997
| Seems one member of the Dioscorea family is edible, the ALATA. This one, the Bulbifera is POISONOUS.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/32235/#axzz2MiNJKj5O
I'm closing the tread out. Thanks to everyone who replied!
This message was edited Mar 5, 2013 7:38 PM
This message was edited Mar 5, 2013 7:40 PM |
