Practical
Plants

Madia elegans

Common Madia

an annual member of the Madia genus in the family Compositae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Madia
Life cycle
annual
Height
1.5 m
Fertility
Insects
Flower type
monoecious
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - raw or cooked[2][3][5]. Although quite small, the seed was a staple food for some native North American Indian tribes[5]. Rich in oil, it can be roasted then ground into a powder and eaten dry, mixed with water, or combined with cereal flours[2][3][5]. The seed was also used as piñole[2][5].

Plant part
Seed

Environment

Range
Western N. America.
Habitat
Dry open places and roadsides[6].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow in mid spring in situ and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within a couple of weeks.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in any good garden soil[1]. Prefers a deep open sharply drained soil in a sunny position[4]. Another report says that it is best in a shady position[1]. The flowers open in the morning or evening, closing when exposed to bright sunlight[4].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  3. Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.

    ↩1↩2

  4. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

  5. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  6. Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955-00-00

    ↩

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