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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Psoralea hypogaea | Little Breadroot
ABBREVIATION :
PSOHYP
SYNONYMS :
Pediomelum hypogaeum (Nutt.) Rydb.
SCS PLANT CODE :
PSHY
PSHYS
COMMON NAMES :
little breadroot
little breadroot scurf-pea
prairie turnip
Indian turnip
prairie potato
subterranean breadroot
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of little breadroot is Psoralea
hypogaea Nutt. (Fabaceae) [1,5,6,9,16]. Recognized varieties are [9,12]:
Psoralea hypogaea var. hypogaea
Psoralea hypogaea var. scaposa Gray
Psoralea hypogaea var. subulata (Bush) Grimes
Psoralea hypogaea var. scaposa occurs in east-central Texas, and
Psoralea hypogaea var. subulata occurs in eastern Texas. Varietal
differences are based upon peduncle length and degree of pubescence [12].
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
The Natural Heritage Program lists little breadroot as threatened in
Montana [19].
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Janet L. Howard, May 1993
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Howard, Janet L. 1993. Psoralea hypogaea. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Psoralea hypogaea | Little Breadroot
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Little breadroot is distributed from eastern Montana and eastern Wyoming
south through eastern Colorado, western Kansas, and western Oklahoma to
northeastern New Mexico, Texas, and extreme southwestern Arkansas
[6,9,12].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
FRES32 Texas savanna
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
STATES :
AR CO KS MT NE NM OK TX WY
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
NO-ENTRY
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K065 Grama - buffalograss
K069 Bluestem - grama prairie
K070 Sandsage - bluestem prairie
K074 Bluestem prairie
K076 Blackland prairie
K082 Mosaic of K074 and K100
K084 Cross Timbers
K085 Mesquite - buffalograss
K086 Juniper - oak savanna
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
40 Post oak - blackjack oak
53 White oak
66 Ashe juniper - redberry (Pinchot) juniper
67 Mohrs ("shin") oak
68 Mesquite
71 Longleaf pine - scrub oak
76 Shortleaf pine - oak
82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
88 Willow oak - water oak - diamondleaf oak
92 Sweetgum - willow oak
96 Overcup oak - water hickory
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Psoralea hypogaea | Little Breadroot
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
The foliage of Psoralea species are suspected of being poisonous [3,17].
Their seeds contain skin-photosensitizing chemicals [10].
PALATABILITY :
Psoralea species are unpalatable to sheep and cattle [17].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Little breadroot taproots contain 69.8 percent starch and 7 percent
protein (dry weight), and are high in vitamin C (17.1 mg/100 g dry
weight) [4,14].
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Little breadroot taproots were a staple diet item of Plains Indians [4,17].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Psoralea hypogaea | Little Breadroot
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Little breadroot is a native perennial forb. It is acaulescent or
rarely short-stemmed. The taproot is a thick, woody storage organ
located 1 to 3 inches (3-8 cm) below ground. The caudex is also usually
located below ground. The fruit is a legume [1,9,16].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Little breadroot reproduces from seed [9]. Seeds of Psoralea species
require scarification before germination [14].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Little breadroot grows in rocky or sandy soils. It is found on bluffs,
plains, and stream valleys [9].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Little breadroot flowers from May to June [9].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Psoralea hypogaea | Little Breadroot
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Fire-related information on little breadroot is lacking in the
literature. Little breadroot probably survives fire because the caudex
is located below ground. Presumably, starch reserves in the root are
metabolized the growing season following fire, and plants sprout from
the caudex. Fire probably helps stimulate germination of
seedbank-stored little breadroot seeds by scarifying them.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Caudex, growing points in soil
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Psoralea hypogaea | Little Breadroot
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire probably top-kills little breadroot.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Psoralea hypogaea | Little Breadroot
REFERENCES :
1. Bare, Janet E. 1979. Wildflowers and weeds of Kansas. Lawrence, KS: The
Regents Press of Kansas. 509 p. [3801]
2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
3. Cappelletti, E. M.; Innocenti, G.; Caporale, G. 1992. Possible
ecological significance of within-fruit and seed furocoumarin d
distribution in two Psoralea species. Journal of Chemical Ecology.
18(2): 155-164. [20912]
4. Cowen, Ron. 1991. The sacred turnip. Science News. 139(20): 316-317.
[20913]
5. Dorn, Robert D. 1984. Vascular plants of Montana. Cheyenne, WY: Mountain
West Publishing. 276 p. [819]
6. Dorn, Robert D. 1988. Vascular plants of Wyoming. Cheyenne, WY: Mountain
West Publishing. 340 p. [6129]
7. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
8. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
9. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. [1603]
10. Innocenti, G.; Dall'Acqua, F.; Guiotto, A.; Caporale, G. 1977.
Investigation on skin-photosensitizing activity of various kinds of
Psoralea. Planta Medica. 31(2): 151-155. [20910]
11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
12. Patricio, M. V. 1990. A revision of the genus Arctophyllum (Rubiaceae:
Hedyotideae). Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden. 61: 1-113.
[20915]
13. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
14. Spessard, L. L. 1988. Seed-germination studies of Psoralea esculenta
Pursh (Indian turnip) and Psoralea argophylla Pursh (silver scurfpea).
Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences. 16: 123-126. [20914]
15. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
16. Stubbendiek, James; Conard, Elverne C. 1989. Common legumes of the Great
Plains: an illustrated guide. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
330 p. [11049]
17. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1937. Range plant
handbook. Washington, DC. 532 p. [2387]
18. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
19. Lesica, Peter; Shelly, J. Stephen. 1991. Sensitive, threatened and
endangered vascular plants of Montana. Occasional Publication No. 1.
Helena, MT: Montana Natural Heritage Program. 88 p. [20964]
Index
Related categories for Species: Psoralea hypogaea
| Little Breadroot
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