Practical
Plants

Proboscidea fragrans

Sweet Unicorn Plant

an annual member of the Proboscidea genus in the family Martyniaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual
Height
0.6 m
Spread
0.3 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

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

Leaves - cooked as a potherb with beans[1]. The half-ripe seedpods are cooked and eaten as a vegetable[3][1]. They are 8 - 10cm long[2]. Seed - cooked[5]. Boiled and eaten[5]. The soft immature seeds can be eaten raw, roasted or ground into a paste[1].

Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Seed
Plant part
Seedpod

Material uses

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

The ripe seedpods are used as an ornament on willow baskets[3]. The pods are softened with lye and water, split, bent and used as sewing withes in coiled basketry[5].

Product or use
Basketry

Environment

Range
South-western N. America - Texas to Mexico.
Habitat
Not known
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 10+
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 spring in a warm greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts[4].

Cultivation

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

Requires a well-drained porous fertile soil in a warm sheltered position[2][4]. A frost-tender species, it can be grown outdoors in Britain as a half-hardy annual. This species is closely related to P. louisianica[4].

References

  1. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3

  2. Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7

    ↩1↩2

  3. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩1↩2

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

    ↩1↩2↩3

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

    ↩1↩2↩3

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