Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ American Groundnut

Apios americana

Medik.

American Groundnut

G5Secure Found in 34 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.155895
Element CodePDFAB0D010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderFabales
FamilyFabaceae
GenusApios
Other Common Names
Apios d'Amérique (FR) Groundnut (EN) groundnut (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-05-13
Change Date1984-01-19
Edition Date2012-02-20
Edition AuthorsSusan Spackman Panjabi
Range Extent Comments
Known from the central and eastern half of the United States, and north into Canada (USDA NRCS 2017).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

Apios americana is a perennial twining or trailing herbaceous vine, 1 to 5 meters long, with tuberous roots. Its alternate leaves have small stipules and 5 to 7 leaflets. The leaflets are ovate, acute, and 2 to 10 cm long. Plants can be glabrous to pubescent. The flowers are pedicellate and born in axillary racemes. The calyx is green or red tinted. Flowers are 8 to 10 millimeters long with five petals and a papillionaceous corolla. The banner is reflexed, whitish-pink dorsally and reddish-maroon ventrally with brown and green markings in the throat. The wings are pinkish-red and white around the distal edge. Five sepals are united, bilabiate, the upper four lobes very short or absent, the lower lobes longer. Fruits are straight or slightly curved, 5-10 mm long x 6-12 mm wide, usually with 1 seed (Anderson and Spackman 2001, Culver and Lemly 2013, Ackerfield 2015).

Diagnostic Characteristics

From CNHP Wetland Guide 2012: Main Characteristics:
·Leaves odd-pinnately compound
·Purple-brown flowers
·Creeping stems
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
OklahomaSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
West VirginiaS5Yes
VermontS4Yes
IowaS4Yes
New YorkS5Yes
New JerseyS4Yes
ColoradoS1Yes
South DakotaSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
DelawareS5Yes
IndianaS5Yes
KentuckyS5Yes
ConnecticutSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
North CarolinaS4Yes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
MissouriSNRYes
North DakotaSHYes
IllinoisSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
New HampshireSNRYes
South CarolinaS4Yes
FloridaSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
NebraskaSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
KansasS3Yes
MarylandSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
QuebecS4Yes
OntarioS5Yes
New BrunswickS4Yes
Nova ScotiaS5Yes
Prince Edward IslandS1Yes
Plant Characteristics
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (34)
Florida (1)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Georgia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Kelly RidgeChattahoochee National Forest8,325
Maine (1)
AreaForestAcres
Caribou - Speckled ExtWhite Mountain National Forest5,988
Missouri (2)
AreaForestAcres
Irish Rare II Study AreaMark Twain National Forest1,226
Spring Creek Rare II Study AreaMark Twain National Forest4,899
New Hampshire (2)
AreaForestAcres
JobildunkWhite Mountain National Forest3,660
Mt. Wolf - Gordon PondWhite Mountain National Forest11,846
North Carolina (15)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainPisgah National Forest11,085
Balsam ConePisgah National Forest10,591
BearwallowPisgah National Forest4,113
Chunky Gal (addition)Nantahala National Forest3,336
Graveyard Ridge (addition)Pisgah National Forest1,958
Harper CreekPisgah National Forest7,325
Linville Gorge AdditionPisgah National Forest2,809
Overflow CreekNantahala National Forest3,379
Pond Pine BCroatan National Forest2,961
Sam Knob (addition)Pisgah National Forest2,576
Sheep Ridge AdditionCroatan National Forest5,808
Slide HollowPisgah National Forest193
South Mills RiverPisgah National Forest8,588
Tusquitee BaldNantahala National Forest13,670
Yellowhammer Branch (add.)Nantahala National Forest1,255
Pennsylvania (2)
AreaForestAcres
Allegheny FrontAllegheny National Forest7,430
Tracy RidgeAllegheny National Forest9,034
Tennessee (4)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainCherokee National Forest11,743
Flint Mill GapCherokee National Forest9,494
London Bridge BranchCherokee National Forest3,387
Slide HollowCherokee National Forest4,057
Vermont (1)
AreaForestAcres
Griffith Lake 09084Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,833
Virginia (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekJefferson National Forest18,274
Beards MountainGeorge Washington National Forest7,505
Peters Mountain Addition A (VA)Jefferson National Forest1,268
West Virginia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Little MountainMonongahela National Forest8,172
Peters Mountain Addition A (WV)Jefferson National Forest343
References (6)
  1. Ackerfield, J. 2015. Flora of Colorado. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, TX. 818 pp.
  2. Anderson, D.G. and S.C. Spackman. 2001. Inventory and Status Report of American Ground Nut (Apios americana Medicus) in Colorado. Unpublished report prepared for City of Boulder Open Space by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Fort Collins.
  3. Britton, N. L. and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. 3 vol. Dover Publications, Inc., N. Y. 2052 pp.
  4. Culver, D. R. and J. M. Lemly. 2013a. Field Guide to Colorado's Wetland Plants. Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Colorado State University. 694 pp.
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  6. USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, PLANTS Database [USDA PLANTS]. http://plants.usda.gov/. Accessed 2017.