Appalachian Institute for Mountain Studies
Edible and Medicinal Perennial Gardens
​
On this page, you can find information about the useful perennial plants that we have in the ground at AIMS as of Summer 2020. The information listed here about these perennial varieties is pulled directly from the websites or seed catalogs of the suppliers listed unless otherwise cited parenthetically.
​
AMERICAN GROUNDNUT (Apios americana)
DENSITUBEROUS GROUNDNUT
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
This selection is grown in the UK where it has proved successful in the less than sunny conditions and coolness of the English climate. Produces masses of two inch tubers close together along the rhizome. Medium sized vine is produced similar to the species around 8-12 ft. long. It has flowered profusely for us but has not produced peas. Tuber quality and yields make this one of the most easily grown selection in short season area.
KENNEBEC GROUNDNUT
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
One of the most northern selections of groundnut, this medium sized tuber is highly productive found growing at the juncture of the Sandy and Kennebec River in Maine. Because of its short season, this selection can be grown much farther north than the Nutty selections.
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
MAINE GROUNDNUT
Grown from seed, these selections are a mix of fertile pea and tuber producing plants all grown from the Kennebec groundnut. This strain would be perfect for developing short season selections along with easy to harvest types where the tubers are closer to each other when you dig them up.
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
TREASURE GROUNDNUT
Treasure is Oikos’s most productive groundnut. The 1-2 inch long groundnuts are produced in huge abundance along a central ‘string’ or rhizome fairly close to the surface of the soil. The high yields for this short season selection makes it an ideal groundnut for more northern areas even into zone 4.
UNNAMED VARIETIES OF GROUNDNUTS:
Sources: Miles Gardens, Jim Duke, Mountain Gardens
OTHER PERENNIAL PLANTS
ACHIRA, INDIAN SHOT (Canna edulis)
Source: Strictly Medicinals
Broadleaved perennial to 5 feet, native to South America and West Indies. The plant may act as an herbaceous perennial in colder zones and may be mulched to overwinter. The tubers are a source of starch, very similar to arrowroot, which this plant resembles. The rhizomes and young sprouts are edible, mild tasting, gummy when fresh, tasty, high in potassium and protein.
BLACK RASPBERRY (Rubus occidentalis)
Source: AIMS property (native plant)
BLACK SAMPSON, CONEFLOWER (Echinacea angustifolia)
Source: Strictly Medicinals
Herbaceous perennial, this ecotype native to the Rocky Mountains of North America. Angustifolia is the most northerly ranging of all 9 indigenous American species. Traditional usage (American Indian, TWM): Snakebite, enhancement of immunity.
CHINESE ARTICHOKE (Stachys affinis)
Source: Mountain Gardens
Chinese artichoke is a mint relative that can spread to form large colonies. When you dig up the tangled "turf" of fuzzy leaves and stems, you find little (1-2 inch) white tubers like alien seashells, ready to be picked out of the ground. Chinese artichoke tubers have a delightful crisp texture and a mildly sweet flabor. Chinese artichokes were domesticated in Japan and China and became popular in France, where they are still grown as a minor root crop. While they can persist without care as a dense groundcover for years, Chinese artichokes produce their highest yields if harvested annually. Just leave a few or replant them with 8-inch spacing between the tubers. Thy can be quite productive when grown in this fashion. Think carefully before you plant them, because they are likely to come back for years even if you swear you dug them all out. Chinese artichokes are running perennials, forming a 12- to 18-inch high carpet (Toensmeier 2007).
Source: Mountain Gardens
CHINESE SAGE (Salvia przewalskii)
Hardy perennial, 2', ornamental. Root invigorates the blood, clears heat, and soothes irritability .
EGYPTIAN WALKING ONION (Alium cepa var. proliferum)
Source: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
These hardy perennial onions grow well throughout most of North America (zones 3-9). It’s the onion to plant if you always want onions. The bulbs set bulblets on stalks, and these air-bound bulblets will sprout new smaller stalks, which fall over and replant themselves, hence the name Walking. Bulbs can be harvested over the fall and winter. Green onions can be harvested selectively as they grow. Plant them where you intend to have them for a long time, as they are quite hardy. They tend not to yield very much the first year, but after that they will keep you supplied with onions.
EPAZOTE (Chenopodium ambrosiodes)
Source: Mountain Gardens
Strongly aromatic herb with insecticidal properties, primarily used against intestinal worms. Cooked with beans to flavor and aid digestion. Branching annual/perennial herb to 3' +. Prefers good soil and sun. Easy from seed in spring, may self-sow excessively if allowed to.
ERFURTER MARSHMALLOW (Althaea officinalis)
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
This plant has many uses. Widely used for its mucilaginous properties, the roots and leaves can be cooked and eaten. The roots contain 37 percent starch and can be added to soups or boiled to create an egg white effect for other dishes. Flowers can harvested for tea. There are many medicinal uses. Flowers have been used as an expectorant in cough syrups and roots have been used to soothe gastric ulcers, to name a few. Leaves have been used for infusions helpful to the bronchial and respiratory tracts.
GARDEN MUM, FLORIST'S CHRYSANTHEMUM (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
Source: Mountain Gardens
Ornamental hardy perennial herb, 2’, easily propagated by division. This is the white-flowered variety, better for liver / kidney deficiency.
Source: Strictly Medicinals
GARDEN SAGE (Salvia officinalis)
Native to the Mediterranean basin, this plant is simply a must for any traditional herb garden. Visitors will run their hands over the soft, grey-green leaves to release the essential oils. An indispensable spice.
GIANT SOLOMON'S SEAL (Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum)
Source: AIMS property (native plant)
This eastern wild edible is a giant form of a common woodland wildflower. Ordinary Solomon's seal (P. biflorum) is a lovely colony-forming herb reaching about 18 inches tall. The giant variety can each an astounding 7 feet tall in ideal conditions, and is often easily 4-5 feet fall (this is due to polyploid chromosomes). Plants put up a number of tall, arching stems with beautiful white flowers dangling beneath, and are truly striking ornamentals. The spring shoots of all Solomon's seals are edible, but those of the smaller type are much smaller and thinner. Giant Solomon's seal has large, hick shoots that look and taste very similar to asparagus. The differ in that they have a cluster of folded leaves at the top of the shoot, and the stalks are thinner than asparagus. Their flavor is quite good--though the leaf cluster at the top can be bitter. Joe Hollis of Mountain Gardens likes giant Solomon's seal better than asparagus, because of the flavor and because it is so much easier to grow. Giant Solomon's seal spreads by runners to form a colony. It tends to send roots in different directions, forming clumps here and there. In full sun clumps are dense, but in the shade they are diffuse and can be easily interplanted with other species. Plants essentially take care of themselves (Toensmeier 2007).
Source: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
GLASKINS PERPETUAL RHUBARB (Rheum rhabarbarum)
This heirloom strain from the U.K. has been one of the most productive seed grown varieties partly due to its green stems and ability to grow in warmer climates. Heavy producer of tender petioles starts early in the season producing long into the season. You can grow it from seed or cuttings. The perpetual part of the name comes from its ability to produce in early summer and again in the fall. This is a mix of both green and red stems, but primarily this is a green small stemmed selection perfect for rhubarb pie. For those who know rhubarb, this selection is considered one of the best in the flavor department without being over the top in sourness.
JAPANESE HE-KI-SHO BUNCHING ONION (Allium fistulosum)
Source: Oikos
This is an heirloom Japanese perennial that grows stalks that divide from the base. It is non-bulbing green onion and white at the base. It can be harvested at any stage, from small size to maturity. The flavor is deliciously mild and used in soups, salads, and stir-fries. Longer white stems can be achieved by mounding earth up over the stems to blanch them. They can survive winter temperatures as low as -30 F.
KASHMIR SAGE (Salvia hians)
Source: Strictly Medicinals
Herbaceous perennial giving rise to loose racemes of large, deep throated blue flowers in second year. The plant flowers over a longer period of time than most sages. Salvia hians is a particularly robust sage, with resinously sticky foliage that gives off an enticing, fruity aroma, even at a distance. Native to the Himalayas, the plant is used to make tea.
Source: Mountain Gardens
LAVENDAR
..
MANDRAKE (Mandragora officinarum)
Source: Mountain Gardens
MOUNTAIN ASPARAGUS (Aralia cordata)
Source: Mountain Gardens
NEW JERSEY DELIGHT ASPARAGUS (Asparagus oficinalis)
Source: Watauga County Cooperative Extension
...
PERENNIAL BROCCOLI (Bunias orientalis)
Source: Mountain Gardens, Oikos
Perennial broccoli delivers the real broccoli taste without the bug issues in the cabbage family. This species called ‘turkish rocket’ makes it was easier to grow as a perennial green because it is impervious to aphids and cabbage butterfly larvae.
POOR MAN'S GINSENG, DANG SHEN (Codonopsis pilosula)
Source: Mountain Gardens
Sweet, nutritious, tonic root, increasingly substituted for the more demanding ginseng, for low energy, debility, poor appetite & digestion, etc. Hardy herbaceous, perennial, twining vine, to 6'.
Source: Mountain Gardens
PURPLE CONEFLOWER, ECHINACEA (Echinacea purperea)
Alterative, antibiotic and antiviral plant used especially for immune system stimulation (for colds and flu, also most infections and inflammations). Showy, hardy perennial herb, 2-3'. Prefers rich moist soil and sun-light shade.
PURPLE PASSION ASPARAGUS (Asparagus oficinalis)
Source: Watauga County Cooperative Extension
...
SKIRRET (Sium sisarum)
Source: Oikos
Also known as “the forgotten root,” this plant with the funny name is actually part of the carrot family. In the Middle Ages, it was the primary root crop later replaced by the potato. The small, sweet root can be used interchangeably with carrots, parsnips or potatoes. No need to peel. Harvesting can take place after the foliage has died back from frost in the fall. It’s easy to grow, long-lived, and simple to propagate from the root or seed. Plants can be harvested yearly or left to go for longer. The crowns expand slowly with age and are a more or less compact plant. Hardy to minus 30 F.
SUNCHOKES (Helianthus tuberosis)
CLEARWATER SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
Found as a chance seedling, Clearwater has the most non-artichoke flavor compared to other named selections. It is very mild with no piney aftertaste. Clearwater’s smooth round shape makes it the most potato-like in appearance of the sunchokes.
GIGANT SUNCHOKE
This sunchoke has a large pinecone shape and a strong, nutty flavor. It’s not a sweet one, but has a very earthy flavor and is very large in size. Truly looks like something from outerspace as the giant tubers take on a life of their own in terms of growth habit. Give this plant lots of room and the tubers can grow to large size 2-3 times the size of other sunchoke varieties easily.
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
GUTA GELBE SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
These tubers have a strong nutty flavor with only a small amount of sweetness. The flavor is similar to a cross between an artichoke and carrot. Again, a favorite of Oikos’s taste-tester.
LOLA SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
Lola has a very distinct look: knobby with some pink and brown color variance. It is dense with a mild, classic artichoke flavor. The tubers are medium in size and produced in large quantities. This is one of the most productive sunchokes that Oikos grows.
NORA SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
These beige, cone-shaped sunchokes are packed with a sweet, nutty and light flavor. This one is a favorite of Oikos’s taste-tester. The sunchoke contains about 10% protein, no oil and little starch. It is mainly the carbohydrate inulin that makes up about ¾ of this root, and the fructose that gives it is sweetness.
OLATIN SUNCHOKE
This semi-sweet and mildly piney sunchoke has a turnip-like flavor with a hint of almond. Cooking helps mellow the flavor of sunchokes which can blend the rather piney flavor of some. The tubers are light yellow, brown, and larger than the other varieties.
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
RED FUSEAU SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
Another crispy sunchoke with thin skin and good flavor. No side nodules so it is easy to clean with no place for mini boulders to hide in the crevices of the knobs. This variety is also a vigorous tall plant up to 10 ft. tall and very productive.
RED ROVER SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
This fast growing artichoke grows up to 10 ft. in height and spreads by medium long rhizomes. The smooth red tubers have no knobs which makes it easy to clean. Tubers average 1” in diameter and up to 6” long. Always productive even in poor soil.
SPINDEL SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
These medium-sized, oval-shaped sunchokes are dense, nutty, and have a very strong flavor without being bitter. The yields are heavy and very consistent with this one. It tends to be a clumper type.
STARWHITE CLUSTER SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
Starwhite cluster is uniform in color (hazel) and has a mild, nutty flavor. This selection produces dense clusters of tubers which are very easy to clean. This selection is a form selected due to its yield, dense clusters, and mild flavor. The color is pure white and very clean looking.
SUPERNOVA SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
Heavy yielding, sweet flavored selection enjoyed by those who are not sunchoke fans. Each plant produces huge clusters of tubers. When growing they push aside the soil making harvesting as easy as reaching into the soil to pluck he fruit. This could be a new commercial variety because of its universal appeal in the flabor department. Plants are short (5-7’) with a few flowers and produce multiple branches all the way up the top.
TOPSTAR SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
Close your eyes and take a bite of Topstar and you would swear it’s a carrot. Fool your friends! This variety would be great to substitute in any dish where a carrot would normally go. Very crispy too! Topstar is a very good culinary selection and probably would be more widely acceptable as far as sunchokes go because of the mellow carrot flavor.
URODNY SUNCHOKE
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
This sunchoke has many carrot-like properties, but with even more sweetness. The cone shaped, medium-yellow tubers would make a great addition to your root-veggie routine. Urodny might be a good choice for northern areas as this species also flowers early and produces tubers early in the season, almost a month earlier than the others. Has a nice upright flowering habit too with clumping tuber growth.
WHITE FUSEAU SUNCHOKE
Highly productive white form with no side nodules. Later ripening but perfect for sandy soil—comes out clean. Has a nice smooth flavor. One of the better flavored cultivated selections with a thinner skin than other varieties. White Fuseau is the carrot of sunchokes. Rhizome spreads at a good clip.
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
WILD PJ'S SUNCHOKE
From Michigan, this selection produces some of the most solid tubers we have tasted (according to Oikos). It even holds up to baking like a potato. It is a heavy producer with plants that can reach up to 15 ft in good years. The tubers are very crispy yet they have a firm texture. Found as a chance seedling growing near a parking lot by PJ. Easy to clean the tubers.
UNNAMED VARIETIES OF SUNCHOKES:
Sources: Snaggy Mountain, La Finca
OTHER PERENNIAL PLANTS, CONTINUED
WESTERN MUGWORT, WHITE SAGEBRUSH, WHITE SAGE (Artemisia ludoviciana)
Source: Strictly Medicinals
Patch-forming herbaceous perennial native to western and central US and Canada. The softly silvery-white and aromatic leaves give rise to dangling flowers of yellow. Traditional usage (Native American, TWM): ritual smudge, eczema, spider bite, stomachache, menstrual woes.
TURK'S-CAP LILY (Lilium superbum)
Source: AIMS property (native plant)
The Turk's-cap Lily, found in woods throughout the eastern half of the United States, is one of the most regal of our midsummer wildflowers. The stem is often seven feet tall and topped with several large nodding blossoms, each made up of six orange petals, six gracefully protruding stamens, and a pistil. The oblong leaves are arranged in whorls around the stem. The bulbs are in the form of thick fleshy scales arranged on a horizontal rootstock. At the base of the stem above the bulb are additional adventitious roots providing more support. As food, this fleshy bulb and rootstock can be roasted or included in soups (Elliot 1995).
WILD BEAN, THICKET BEAN, BEAN-VINE, WILD KIDNEY BEAN (Phaseolus polystachios)
Source: Oikos
This perennial climber grows in open fields and river plains and is easily cultivated in a variety of soils. Indigenous to North America, wild bean can be found in nearly every state, in Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. It has been found in many ancient archaeological sites and was probably the first bean to have been selected in North America prior to the distribution of annual beans. The high protein seeds have been cooked by Native Americans as a winter food source. But to be honest, its uses are not widely known past or present. Under cultivation wild bean grows best in full sun. Can get upwards of 20 ft tall when climbing with large side branching of the vines almost like a grape. Once established the roots are incredibly deep rooted and long lived.
WINTER SAVORY (Satureja montana)
Source: Strictly Medicinals
Evergreen perennial native to the Mediterranean, Europe, and Russia. The dark green, shining leaves are esteemed for making tea. Source of thymol. Bright green-leaved aromatic shrub. Harvest the preflowering tops several times in the summer, shade dry, and rub out the stems. This makes good spice. Traditional usage (TWM): Carminative (relieves flatulence).
Source: Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company
YACON (Smallanthus sonchifolius)
Yacon is one of the few Andean root crops that is not day-length sensitive and has a short enough growing season that it can be grown in much of the United States. While it is a root crop, yacon is eaten more like a fruit, as its tubers are sweet and crisp like an apple. It is grown throughout much of South America, where it is eaten fresh and used as the basis for snack foods and even used to make sugar. The flavor of the roots has been described as "fresh apple with a hint of watermelon." Plants bear large clusters of tubers up to the size of sweet potatoes, and have white, yellow, purple, or orange flesh. Like sunchoke, yacon is a relative of sunflower, though not as close. Unlike sunchoke, it does not spread aggressively. The flowers attract beneficial insects. Yacon is a clump-forming perennial growing about 6 fee tall. It has little daisy-like flowers (Toensmeier 2007).
Source: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
YELLOW MUM (Chrysanthemum indicum)
Source: Mountain Gardens
Hardy perennial garden flower, 3'., grows more vigorously here than the morifolium. Reduces fever, relieves hypertension, benefits liver, soothes the eyes, etc.
YELLOW POTATO ONIONS, HILL ONION, MOTHER ONION, PREGNANT ONIONS (Allium cepa var. aggregatum)
Source: Southern Seed Exposure
The Yellow Potato onion has good drought resistance, pink root resistance, and is widely adapted for different growing regions. Especially valued for the keeping quality of the small and medium-sized bulbs, which keep 8-12 months under good conditions. SESE has kept small bulbs up to 18 months under ideal conditions. Some old-timers grow this heirloom onion exclusively because it provides all the onions they ever need. Produces onions up to 4 in. in diameter under good conditions, and 3 in. in diameter under average conditions. Flavorful, yet not strong.
ZOLUSHKA POTATO (Solanum tuberosum)
Source: Oikos Tree Crops
This is one of the very few potatoes that can be grown from true seed and is available commercially. Zolushka is considered a good frying potato (great for chips), and is one of the most prolific producers, out-yielding hundreds of other varieties. Zolushka has a smooth skin with uniform 2-3 inch long potatoes. Makes bunches of early potatoes too 80-95 days from tubers.
CITATIONS
Elliott, D. B. (1995). Wild roots: A Forager's Guide to the Edible and Medicinal Roots, Tubers, Corms, and Rhizomes of North America. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press.
​
Toensmeier, E. (2007). Perennial Vegetables: From Artichoke to Zuiki Taro, a Gardener's Guide to Over 100 Delicious, Easy-to-Grow Edibles. White River Junction, Vt, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.
​
​