Pediomelum esculentum (Prairie Turnip)
| Also known as: | Large Indian Breadroot, Indian Turnip |
|---|---|
| Genus: | Pediomelum |
| Family: | Fabaceae (Pea) |
| Life cycle: | perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Habitat: | sun; dry prairie, often rocky soil |
| Bloom season: | May - July |
| Plant height: | 12 to 16 inches |
| Wetland Indicator Status: | none |
| MN county distribution (click map to enlarge): |  |
| National distribution (click map to enlarge): |  |
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Detailed Information
Flower: 
![[photo of flowers]](/udata/r9ndp23q/pd2/pediomelum-esculentum-1.jpg)
Short, cylindrical, densely hairy spike of ½-inch pea-shaped flowers. Flowers are light blue to purple turning creamy with age; the upper petal (standard) is round with darker veins; the lateral wings below it are somewhat lighter in color, inflated over a small keel underneath. The calyx tube and floral bracts are covered in long silvery hairs.
Leaves and stem:
![[photo of leaves]](/udata/r9ndp23q/pd2/pediomelum-esculentum-7.jpg)
Leaves are palmately compound in groups of 5 on a stalk up to 6 inches long. Leaflets are oval elliptic, 1 to 2 inches long, 1/3 to ¾ inch wide, narrowing at the base, rounded, blunt or pointed at the tip, upper surface nearly smooth, undersides covered in flattened hairs. Plant is stout, stems and leaves are erect with multiple branches. Stems are densely hairy.
Notes:
Both Prairie Turnip and Silverleaf Scurf Pea (P. argophyllum) are restricted to open prairie habitats and commonly encountered in those habitats. As the common names imply this species has a large, starchy root that was utilized by both Native American and European pioneers alike. While I have run across it at several locations in past years, all of my images come from out of state. This species was formerly known as Psoralea esculenta.Please visit our sponsors
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More photos
Prairie Turnip plant
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and more plants Photos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk taken in western South Dakota
Comments
Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?
on: 2014-06-09 15:21:08
Several of these were still in bloom, though fading, on 7 June 2014, south-facing hillsides, gravelly soil.
on: 2015-06-25 13:59:36
Saw this last weekend almost at the top of the hill. Almost done blooming but still cool to find and identify!
on: 2018-06-02 10:04:50
We included this species in a custom seed mix for our native grass/wildflower yard. Finally saw several of these growing in our sunny dry location. Blooming today 6/2/2018.
on: 2019-08-31 23:46:21
Prairie turnip! Timpsila! I've heard this is a hugely important plant in the dakota/lakota cosmology, when star girl pulls up the turnip plant and falls through the hole in the sky.
on: 2021-06-06 14:49:35
Some about to bloom, a few partially blooming, most with no infloresence present. Viewed on June 5, 2021
on: 2021-06-21 15:40:43
Found one on a sand-gravel bluff prairie, on private property south of Pine Bend Bluffs SNA.