Proboscidea
Proboscidea louisianica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Martyniaceae
Genus: Proboscidea
Schmidel
Species

See text

Proboscidea is a genus of flowering plant in the family Martyniaceae, some of whose species are known as devil's claw, devil's horn, ram's horn, or unicorn plant. The plants produce long, hooked seed pods. The hooks catch on the feet of animals, and as the animals walk, the pods are ground or crushed open, dispersing the seeds. The name devil's claw is shared with the South African plant Harpagophytum procumbens.

Uses

Unripe pods of P. parviflora chopped with onions on a cutting board.

The fruits of all species are edible before they ripen and become woody. They can be steamed and eaten much like okra. Some species (particularly P. parviflora) are used in basket weaving by the Tohono O'odham who have selected for varieties with longer "claws."[1] The Chemehuevi also use devil's claw pods in basketry.[2] The Hia C-eḍ Oʼodham and the Tohono O'odham eat the seeds, which provided an important source of dietary oils. P. parviflora was also used as a remedy for rheumatism.[3]

Species

Species include:

Proboscidea lutea is a synonym of Ibicella lutea.

References

  1. 1 2 "Devils Claws". waynesword.palomar.edu. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  2. ↑ "Basket Jar". Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2020.
  3. ↑ "BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database". naeb.brit.org. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.