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Perideridia gairdneri - (Hook.&Arn.)Mathias.

Yampa

Author	(Hook.&Arn.)Mathias.	Botanical references	60
Family	Umbelliferae	Genus	Perideridia
Synonyms	Carum gairdneri - (Hook. & Arn.) Gray.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Western N. America - Saskatchewan to California.
Habitat	Woodland, dry and wet meadows and mountains[60].
Edibility Rating	5 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.2m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry moist or wet soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Bog Garden; Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Root.

Edible Uses: Condiment.

Root - raw or cooked[60, 61]. A pleasant sweet and nutty taste[2, 46, 95, 161], it can be eaten in quantity as a staple food[183]. It is best used when the plant is dormant[85]. The root can also be dried for later use or ground into a powder and used with cereals when making porridges, cakes etc[183]. The seed is used as a caraway-like seasoning, or can be parched and eaten in porridge or used as piņole[85, 177, 183, 257]. Young leaves - raw or cooked[257].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Carminative; Diuretic; Laxative; Ophthalmic; Pectoral; Salve.

The root is carminative, diuretic, mildly laxative and ophthalmic[94, 257]. An infusion of the roots has been taken to counter the cathartic and emetic effects of another infusion[257]. An infusion of the roots has been applied as a wash to sores and wounds and also used as a nasal wash to get rid of catarrh[257]. A poultice of the roots has been used to draw inflammation from swellings[257]. The juice of the slowly chewed root is said to be beneficial in the treatment of sore throats and coughs[213, 257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have very little information on the cultivation needs of this plant and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. Judging by its native range it is likely to succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. From its native habitat it is assumed that the plant is fairly tolerant of soil conditions and of sun or shade. Yampa is a marvellous food plant that has been widely used as a staple wild food by native N. American Indians. It is just asking for cultivation in order to improve the root size[85].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Alternatively, sow it in early spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter, planting out in late spring of the following year. Division may be possible in spring or autumn.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Alternative Root Crops.

References

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
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.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
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.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.

[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. 0
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Alternative Root Crops.

Nathan Phillips Wed Jun 27 22:55:02 2001

I am currently doing research with Yampah (Perideridia gairdneri), and Indian Potato. I would love to talk about these plants with anyone interested. email me at slrr1@cc.usu.edu

Perideridia gairdneri

Steve Dupey Wed Nov 30 2005

Transplanted roots from wild to the garden grew three times their normal wild size under fertilized irrigated conditions. Growing from seed is said to take four years to achieve a useable size... cold striation required. Premliminary results suggest that cutting and replanting the tops with some length of the root is the best way to propagatate these plants and obtain an annual crop of roots. Rooting begins early in frosty cold soil conditions, and thus fall planting is recommended with seeds and root tops.

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