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| ## American hogpeanut {#american-hogpeanut .Title-Header}             |
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| *Amphicarpaea bracteata* Fern.                                        |
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| Plant Symbol = AMBR2                                                  |
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*Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

##### Alternate Names

Wild peanut

##### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The hogpeanut was used by many tribes of the Plains as a
food source. The Pawnee are reported to have gathered hogpeanut from
rat's nests. The Chippewa used the hogpeanut for a food source, eating
the fruit and roots. They also used it as a digestive aid. The Cherokee
would spit a tea made from the root of hogpeanut on snakebites and
consume the root tea to aid in diarrhea.

##### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

##### Description

######## General: Bean Family (Fabaceae). American hogpeanut is a taprooted, native, annual. The stems can be smooth or covered with short hairs and coil around a support for climbing (2-20 dm tall). The leaves are alternate, compound and with 3 leaflets. Leaflets are broadly lanceolate to ovate. The leaf stalks (petioles) are 2-10 cm long. The hogpeanut produces two sorts of flowers. The first is an unbranched, elongated inflorescence with pedicellate flowers maturing from the bottom up. These flowers open before fertilization and are usually cross-pollinated (chasmogamous). The other flowers are self-fertilized without opening (cleistogamous) and are produced on creeping branches near the ground. The fruit is a sickle-shaped, thin-walled legume, 4-6 mm long.

*Distribution*: For current distribution, please consult the Plant
Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web
site.![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.8875in"
height="1.9277777777777778in"}

*Habitat*: American hogpeanut is found in dry or moist woodlands, along
roadsides, and in prairie ravines.

##### Establishment

American hogpeanut, as a member of the bean family, will fix nitrogen
that will benefit plants growing around it. American hogpeanut requires
a moist, humus-rich soil. To germinate the seeds, pre-soak them for 12
hours in warm water and sow them in the spring in a semi-shaded area.

##### Pests and Potential Problems

Grown in its native habitat and using a local seed stock the American
hogpeanut should not be prone to debilitating pests.

##### Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These materials are readily available from commercial plant sources.

##### References

Correl, D.S. & M.C. Johnston 1970. *Manual of the vascular plants of
Texas*. Texas Research Foundation, Renner, Texas. 1881 pp.

Densmore, F. 1974. *How indians use wild plants for food, medicine, and
crafts*. Dover Publications Inc., New York, New York. 397pp.

Plants for a Future 2001. *Amphicarpaea bracteata*. Devon, England.
\<http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Amphicarpaea+bracteata
\>. Accessed 20NOV01.

Gilmore, M. 1977. *Uses of plants by the indians of the Missouri river
region*. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. 109 pp.

Great Plains Flora Association 1986. *Flora of the great plains*.
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 1392 pp.

Hamel, P.B. & M.U. Chiltoskey 1975. *Cherokee plants their uses-a 400
year history*. Herald Publishing Company, Sylva, North Carolina. 65 pp.

Kindscher, K. 1987. *Edible wild plants of the prairie*. University
Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 276 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber press,
Portland, Oregon. 927 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1999. Native American ethnobotany database: Foods, drugs,
dyes and fibers of native North American peoples. The University of
Michigan-Dearborn. <http://www.umd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/herb>.

##### Prepared By: 

##### *Matthew D. Hurteau*

##### Formerly USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, c/o Environmental Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California

##### 

##### Species Coordinator: 

##### *M. Kat Anderson* 

##### USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Science Department, University of California, Davis, California

##### Edited: 29jan03 jsp; 09jun03 ahv; 30may06jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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