Apios americana ‘Billington’ Hopniss (American Groundnut)

Hopniss is a wonderful, productive edible for backyards or homesteads. This vining perennial legume produces nutrient rich tubers that have been sustaining indigenous peoples across the Eastern North America for hundreds of years. Often called groundnut, which is mis-leading— they are in the legume family, and aren’t nuts at all. The more recent name, ‘Hopniss’ is preferred to avoid confusion with true ground-nuts like peanut. Above ground you’ll see a lush vigorous vine with burgundy-orange, edible flowers, that are tasty when battered and fried. There are also small edible seeds, but the real jewels lie hidden below ground. The tubers multiply, providing large harvests with a taste like a nutty potato with hints of pea. Rich in protein, calcium iron and healthy isoflavanoids that help fight cancer, they are a nutrient packed treat that can be easily grown.

Growing Hopniss ( Groundnut) Vine: Provide support as this vine is vigorous and can reach 20 ft in a growing season. It’s deciduous and will die back with frost to re-emerge the following spring. You can grow it on an arbor, a 6-8 ft trellis, along a fence or allow it to scramble into large bushes. Hopness likes sun and moist soil, even boggy sites. They grow naturally along streams, rivers and lakes. Planting in loose soil or large containers makes harvesting easier. Hopness is nitrogen fixing, making it a natural companion to interplant near sunchokes, in a natural food forest setting.