the climbing potato
 

Anyone heard of a climbing potato? I tuned midway into a conversation
on the radio on this plant. It is said to be a native, with large heart-
shaped leaves like a rainforest plant. The caller was given one from a
friend near Nimbin. The fruit hangs like that on a passionfruit vine, and
like ordinary spuds you wait for one to shoot before planting it. It was
said that those who grow climbing potatoes can stop buying the underground
spuds, so I gather that they must be used in much the same way.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

"John Savage" wrote in message
om...
Anyone heard of a climbing potato? I tuned midway into a conversation
on the radio on this plant. It is said to be a native, with large heart-
shaped leaves like a rainforest plant. The caller was given one from a
friend near Nimbin. The fruit hangs like that on a passionfruit vine, and
like ordinary spuds you wait for one to shoot before planting it. It was
said that those who grow climbing potatoes can stop buying the underground
spuds, so I gather that they must be used in much the same way.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)


Sounds like a Hawaaian plant called Polypodium spectrum

we had a potatoe vine round an old water tank - bloody awful thing - took
two years to kill it off. that said, people like them as a fast and furious
cover all (and it does!)

leslie


"John Savage" wrote in message
om...
Anyone heard of a climbing potato? I tuned midway into a conversation
on the radio on this plant. It is said to be a native, with large heart-
shaped leaves like a rainforest plant. The caller was given one from a
friend near Nimbin. The fruit hangs like that on a passionfruit vine, and
like ordinary spuds you wait for one to shoot before planting it. It was
said that those who grow climbing potatoes can stop buying the underground
spuds, so I gather that they must be used in much the same way.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

ok all said and done does it taste like a tater? and waht is it
related to the yam or something else?

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
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"len gardener" wrote in message
...
ok all said and done does it taste like a tater? and waht is it
related to the yam or something else?

len

Yes Len, it is supposed to be something like a yam / sweet potato

sounds interesting to say the least vincent,

reckon i'll havta look ionto this plant and learn a bit.

ta

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
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my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

g'day leslie,

i've heard of a weed vine called the potatoe vine don't know if it
bears any relationship or resemblence to any sort of potato, just
wondering if what is mentioned here is something different?

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 00:14:28 +0000, John Savage wrote:

Anyone heard of a climbing potato? I tuned midway into a conversation on
the radio on this plant. It is said to be a native, with large heart-
shaped leaves like a rainforest plant. The caller was given one from a
friend near Nimbin. The fruit hangs like that on a passionfruit vine,
and like ordinary spuds you wait for one to shoot before planting it. It
was said that those who grow climbing potatoes can stop buying the
underground spuds, so I gather that they must be used in much the same
way.

This is a enviromental weed, is causes big problems in bush land, destroy
it whenever you can. It is a delcared weed in many states.

len gardener wrote:

g'day leslie,

i've heard of a weed vine called the potatoe vine don't know if it
bears any relationship or resemblence to any sort of potato, just
wondering if what is mentioned here is something different?

Hope so.
Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia) is also called Potato Vine and it is
a major pest of urban bushland. Has the habit of growing profusely up
and over bushes, shrubs and small trees. Eventually the weight of the
fleshy leaves just pulls everything to the ground and the other plant
dies. Major pest to remove as you either max soil toxicity or spend year
after year grubbing out the roots, etc.

you're right. has nothing to do with the plant they're talking about - but
it took a few posts to realise it!

leslie

"len gardener" wrote in message
...
g'day leslie,

i've heard of a weed vine called the potatoe vine don't know if it
bears any relationship or resemblence to any sort of potato, just
wondering if what is mentioned here is something different?

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the
environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before
you send.

John Savage wrote:

Anyone heard of a climbing potato?

Has anyone else had any success chasing this down?
Nothing on ABC radio sites.

There is a major environmental pest Madeira Vine (Andredera cordifolia)
that is also called potato vine that Les Robinson's Field Guide to the
Native Plants of Sydney, says is native to South America and that the
aerial tubers are eaten in Mexico and Southern Europe. Having pulled
tons of it out of Sydney bushland, I can tell you it doesn't produce
much edible matter.

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au...chapter10.html
talks about a Climbing Potato Fern in Hawaii

Seems to be something in web pages in ZA (South Africa), but I can not
always load them. This would kill the Australian Native side.

http://www.botany.unp.ac.za/rcpgd/eb...l_medicine.htm mentions #
Bowiea volubilis (English: climbing potato, Zulu: igibisila, gifisila).

http://www.gardeningeden.co.za/altmedical.html also mentions Bowiea
volubilis. So it definitely isn't a native.

This gives some cultivation info on Bowiea volubilis (also called sea
-onion somewhere else)
http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/acc_num/198501019.html

http://www.merriments.co.uk/plantlist_l_z.htm talks about Crispum
glasnevin (hint species is lower case) Climbing potato

And this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plant...ages/860.shtml
indentifies it as a Cilean Potato Tree.


So, I've come to the conclusion that it might all be a furphy at best
and Madeira vine at worst.

ok vincent back to you mate,

i did a google and got zilch meaningful info' apart from there is some
vine thingy with heart shaped leaves in the land of the grass skirts
and then their is a fern with the same name so figure it aint the
fern.

my appatite is wetted, waiting with baited breath.

ta

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

"len gardener" wrote in message
...
g'day leslie,

i've heard of a weed vine called the potatoe vine don't know if it
bears any relationship or resemblence to any sort of potato, just
wondering if what is mentioned here is something different?

len


I think that one you refer to is in the Deadly Nightshade family

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:07:37 +1100, Terry Collins
wrote:

len gardener wrote:

g'day leslie,

i've heard of a weed vine called the potatoe vine don't know if it
bears any relationship or resemblence to any sort of potato, just
wondering if what is mentioned here is something different?

Hope so.
Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia) is also called Potato Vine and it is
a major pest of urban bushland. Has the habit of growing profusely up
and over bushes, shrubs and small trees. Eventually the weight of the
fleshy leaves just pulls everything to the ground and the other plant
dies. Major pest to remove as you either max soil toxicity or spend year
after year grubbing out the roots, etc.

I think this is the OP's plant It is a major problem in Hawaii. Lots
of tubers to eat (aerial and in the ground) so long as you let it grow
large enough to wreck things as you so vividly describe. I am in my
fifth year of trying to get rid of it. Fortunately the heart shaped
leaves are readily seen when the vine pushes up to 50 cms or so. Must
catch them early before the aerial tubers grow, fall and contaminate
the ground all over again. Tubers sold as food in ethnic markets in
South America, according to Cornucopia II.

Richard Wright wrote:
I am in my
fifth year of trying to get rid of it. Fortunately the heart shaped
leaves are readily seen when the vine pushes up to 50 cms or so. Must
catch them early before the aerial tubers grow, fall and contaminate
the ground all over again.

Learn to recognise the shoots and follow them down and dig out the roots
& tubers in the ground, It is the only way. They are still like potatoes
in that if you miss the smallest bit (pinhead?), it grows again.