Groundnut, anyone?

Last night I was browsing in the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants (Eastern/Central) , (Houghton Mifflin, 1990) and the following caught my eye:

>GROUNDNUT Root
>Apios americana Medic. Pea Family

>[appearance, etc.]
>Uses: Delicious tubers used as food by Pilgrims during first bleak winters. Favorite >Indian food. With 3 times the protein of potatoes, each Groundnut plant, under cultivation, may >produce 5 pounds of tubers. The plant has been suggested as a nitrogen-fixing edible >ornamental for permaculturists. John Josselyn (1672) suggested a poultice of groundnut root be >used for cancerous conditions known as “proud flesh.”

At first glance this plant looks like a great potato substitute. Does anyone know if it is widely cultivated today, and if so, why it’s not at my whole foods store? ;-)

In the interests of fostering an ER4YT-friendly agriculture, I’m performing little research projects to educate myself and disseminate useful info to farmers & others. Big croppers (and bakers) aren’t going to switch from wheat to quinoa overnight! but I’d like to learn more about how a transition could be made attractive & helped along. My hope is that we can shift from a wheat, corn and potato-heavy cultivation to one more in harmony with an optimal human diet, and to make that process as painless for the huge farming industry as possible.

Any groundnut-loving Pilgrims out there?

thanks!

heidi