Pachyrhizus ahipa
| Pachyrhizus ahipa | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Phaseoleae |
| Subtribe: | Glycininae |
| Genus: | Pachyrhizus |
| Species: | P. ahipa |
| Binomial name | |
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Pachyrhizus ahipa (Wedd.) Parodi |
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| Synonyms | |
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Dolichos ahipa Wedd. |
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Dolichos ahipa Wedd.
Pachyrhizus ahipa var. albifora Parodi
Pachyrhizus ahipa var. violacea Parodi
Pachyrhizus ahipa, also called the ahipa or Andean yam bean, is a tuberous root-producing legume, which is mainly distributed in the Andean region.
Archaeological evidence suggests P. ahipa was widely distributed about 2000 years ago. The first mention of ahipa was in connection with the Indian cultures in the Andes, more precisely in the Salta and Jujuy provinces of Argentina. Indications of the Pachyrhizus species in general were also made at the southern coast of Peru, in the Nasca culture. The origin of the ahipa plants is most likely in the ceja de montañas Andean region. Today, it is still in use in small native communities in Bolivia and northern Argentina. The crop was never widely distributed which could have to do with the very specific climatic adaptions it exhibits. Another reason could be the acquisition of Latin America by the Spanish and Portuguese conquest, which had the general policy to destroy the traditional Andean agricultural systems. The local marketing of the Andean bean during the religious festival Corpus Cristi indicates a relationship with ancient religious uses. Today, the production is restricted to a few local villages and farmers.
P. ahipa is member of the Fabaceae and predominantly self-pollinating. The Andean bean is a perennial plant and can grow in erect, semierect or twining forms. The erect species can grow to 15–40 cm tall, the semierect one about 30–60 cm, and the twining forms 60–200 cm long. These plants are herbaceous and lignified depending on the genotype. They do not show a lateral axis. The leaves are trifoliate with stipules or pinnately arranged leaflets with caduceus stipels.
The flowers, which grow on short stalks, are white blossoms or of a pale lavender colour. They show a tubular calyx and a papilionaceous corolla. Generally, the flowers exhibit an internally curved stigma in close contact with the anthers. This habitus is very unfavourable in connection with the pollination behaviour of insects, as they are not able to pollinate the flowers very effectively. Additionally, the pollen fertility is often not very high. It varies between 45 and 100%. The flowering pattern is not consistent. Each season, 100 – 800 flowers per plant can be produced. P. ahipa is a short-day plant, so flowering takes place under decreasing day length. The pods are 13–17 cm long and up to 16 mm wide. The seeds are black, lilac, maroon, or black and white mottled. They are round, kidney-shaped, and about 0.8–1 cm long. Seed production differs from plant to plant and lies between 20 and 100 per plant. The thousand grain weight is around 300 g.
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Wikipedia