Pachyrhizus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Fabales

Familia: Fabaceae
Subfamilia: Faboideae
Tribus: Phaseoleae
Subtribus: Glycininae
Genus: Pachyrhizus
Species: P. ahipa - P. erosus - P. ferrugineus - P. panamensis - P. tuberosus

Name

Pachyrhizus Rich. ex DC. (1825), nom. cons.

Type species: P. angulatus Rich. ex DC., nom. illeg.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Cacara Thouars, Dict. Sci. Nat. (F.Cuvier) 6: 35. 1806, nom. rej.
Type species: C. erosa (L.) Kuntze
Pachyrrhizos Spreng.
Robynsia Martens & Galeotti, Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles 10(2): 193. 1843, nom. illeg. non Drapiez (1841) nom. rej.
Type species: non design.
Taeniocarpum Desv., Ann. Sci. Nat. (Paris) 9: 420. 1826.
Type species: T. articulatum (Lam.) Desv.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: America
Argentina Northwest, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela
Introduced into:
Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Cambodia, Cameroon, China South-Central, China Southeast, Christmas I., Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Himalaya, Fiji, Florida, Gabon, Hainan, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Jawa, Laos, Leeward Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Madagascar, Malaya, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Réunion, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad-Tobago, Vietnam, Windward Is.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition

References
Primary references

Richard, L.C.M. in De Candolle, A.P., 1826. Mémoires sur la famille des Légumineuses: 379

Additional references

De Candolle, A.P. 1825. Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, sive enumeratio contracta ordinum, generum, specierumque plantarum huc usque cognitarum, juxta methodi naturalis normas digesta. Pars 2: Sistens Calyciflorarum ordines X. 644 pp. Treuttel et Würtz, Parisiis [Paris]. BHL Reference page. : 2: 402.
Sørensen, M. 1988. A taxonomic revision of the genus Pachyrhizus (Fabaceae-Phaseoleae). Nordic J. Bot. 8(2): 167–192.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Pachyrhizus in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 May 17. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Pachyrhizus. Published online. Accessed: May 17 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Pachyrhizus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 May 17.
Hassler, M. 2021. Pachyrhizus. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 May 17. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Pachyrhizus. Accessed: 17 May 2021.

Vernacular names

Pachyrhizus is a small genus of five or six species of tropical and subtropical plants growing from large, often edible taproots.

Jícama
Main article: Jícama

The jícama /ˈhɪkəmə/ or yam bean (P. erosus) is a vine widely grown for its large (10–15 cm diameter and up to 20 kg weight), spherical or elongated taproot. After removal of the thick, fibrous brown skin, the white flesh of the root can be eaten cooked or raw. Crisp, moist, and slightly sweet, the flesh draws comparison with that of the apple. The plant produces seeds that are comparable to lima beans, and that are sometimes eaten when young in places where the jicama is native.[2] The mature seeds contain high levels of rotenone, a chemical used as an insecticide and pesticide.[3] The remainder of the jícama plant is very poisonous.[4]

Jícama comes from the New World; the name jícama is used in Central / South America. Today, pachyrhizus erosus is grown throughout Asia. In China, the root is known as cold potato; in Malaysia, sengkuang; in, Indonesia, bengkoang; in the Philippines, singkamas; in Thailand, mankew. It is eaten raw and used in stir fried dishes.[5]

Pachyrhizus tuberosus

Goiteño, nupe, jacatupe or Amazonian yam bean (Pachyrhizus tuberosus) is an annual vine that is characterized by a wrapped and herbaceous stem and a ligneous base. It has white and lilac flowers, pods from 10 to 20 cm in length and beans with a high protein content (32%). Each plant has two or more tubercles from 15 to 25 cm in length that are succulent, sweet and rich in starch and protein (9%). They are consumed both raw and cooked. The leaves (20 to 24% protein) and pods are also edible. This plant prospers in acid soils in South America's tropical rainforests. It is cultivated by the native peoples of the Amazon Rainforest.
Ahipa

The ahipa, ajipa, or Andean yam bean (Pachyrhizus ahipa) is very similar to the jicama and goitenyo in characteristics and uses. Unlike the jícama, it is not a vine and it grows up 2000 m above sea level in the highest Bolivian mountains. The root is smaller and more elongated. It is little known outside of the Andes, where it is mostly grown for personal or local consumption. In the 19th century, British scientists introduced ahipa to the West Indies, where it is also enjoyed by the residents of those islands.[6]

All three above Pachyrhizus species are popular cultivated varieties, mainly jicama or P. erosus, which is common in the US as imported jicama, while another species, P. palmatilobus, is less agreeable in taste.[7]

References

"Pachyrhizus". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
Hunter Johnson Jr. (September 1983). "Jicama". UC Davis Extension. Archived from the original on 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
"Jicama - Facts & History".
Elaine M. D'Sa (September 2004). "Using and Preserving Jicama". National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Longmeimei YouTube channel: Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: 生长在黄土中却洁白如雪，既是清脆的水果也是甘甜的蔬菜, retrieved 2021-07-08
*Vietmeyer, N. (1992). "Forgotten roots of the Incas". In N. Foster; L. S. Cordell (eds.). Chilies to Chocolate. University of Arizona Press, Tucson. ISBN 0-8165-1324-4.

"Jicama nutrition facts". Retrieved June 9, 2013.

"Pachyrhizus Rich. ex DC". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
"Yambean (jicama), raw". Nutrition Facts.