About Amphicarpaea bracteata (L.) Fernald
Amphicarpaea bracteata (L.) Fernald, commonly known as American hog peanut, hog-peanut, or ground bean, is an annual to perennial vine that belongs to the legume family. It is native to woodlands, thickets, and moist slopes across eastern North America, and also grows west into the Midwestern United States, including the states of Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
The common name "hog-peanut" comes from hogs and other livestock grazing the plant and eating its subterranean seeds. Indigenous groups including the Cherokee and Iroquois people have used this plant for medicinal purposes: they used it as an antidiarrheal, gastric medication, and cathartic, and also applied it to treat snake bites and tuberculosis.
