Ipomoea pandurata (L.) G. Mey.

Wild Potato Vine; Man of the Earth; Man Root

Vine

Perennial

Vascular

Man of the Earth is a native herbaceous perennial vine in the Morning Glory family (Convolvulaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. Man of the Earth occurs in pine woodlands, in sandhills, on dunes, in rocky woods, in prairies, and in open hardwood forests. It is a perennial from an enlarged root. The root can be up to 20-30 pounds. The twining vines are glabrous or sparsely pubescent. They are green or purple-red in color. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, ovate to cordate or pandurate in outline, with entire margins. The leaves are sparsely pubescent below. Flowers are produced in axillary cymes of 2-5 flowers. Sepals are rounded, coriaceous, and overlapping. The white flower is campanulate with a pinkish or reddish throat. The corolla has five shallow lobes, and in some plants the flowers have a “star” appearance. Flowers open overnight and usually wither by noon on sunny days. The fruit is a capsule with 2-4 large hairy seed. Man of the Earth is occasionally available from native plant nurseries. It can also be grown from seed or sections of the enlarged root. Although the individual flowers of Man of the Earth are short-lived, the plant will continue to produce new flowers for several months. The enlarged root of Man of the Earth is similar to the related Sweet Potato. Native Americans consumed the roots of Man of the Earth after cooking or grinding them into flour. Man of the Earth is an attractive native perennial that is an alternative to introduced Morning Glory species. It is not weedy and doesn’t spread rapidly in the garden.--A. Diamond

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Native FACU (NWPL) G5 (Global Rank)

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