Indian Potato, Great Basin Indian potato
Orogenia linearifolia
Family: Apiaceae or Umbelliferae
What it is like
Orogenia linearifolia is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in). It is in flower from April to May. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.2
Where it is found
Open mountain sides and ridges, often in sandy or gravelly soils, and often near vernal snow banks where it blooms as soon as the snow melts.
Western N. America - Montana to W. Colorado and west to Utah and Washington.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 4
Root - raw or cooked. The raw root tastes like potatoes. A pleasant crisp taste, though the outer skin has a slightly bitter taste. The root is available at almost any time of the year, its only drawback is that it is a bit small and fiddly to harvest in quantity. It may respond to cultivation.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. From its native habitat it can be assumed that the plant requires a sunny position in a moist but well drained light to medium soil.
Propagating it: Seed - no information has been found. It is probably best to sow the seed as soon as it is ripe in late spring or early summer. Sow in pots in a cold frame and when they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter and plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division should be possible at any time the plant is dormant, probably from mid summer to late winter.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 0-0
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist