About Pediomelum cuspidatum (Pursh) Rydb.
Pediomelum cuspidatum, also scientifically known as Psoralea cuspidata, is a perennial herb. It has several common names: buffalo pea, largebract Indian breadroot, and tall-bread scurf-pea. This species grows on black soil prairies in Texas. It produces an inflorescence on stems 18 to 40 centimeters long. These stems grow from a subterranean stem and a deep, carrot-shaped root that measures 4 to 15 centimeters long. Its leaves have long petioles and are palmately divided into 5 linear-elliptic leaflets. Each leaflet is 2 to 4 centimeters long. The light blue, pea-like flowers of this species grow in condensed spikes that emerge from the leaves. Pediomelum cuspidatum emerges in late Spring. Compared to its smaller, fecund cousin Pediomelum hypogaeum, Pediomelum cuspidatum sets very few seeds. The tuberous roots of this species are edible, though some sources report that they taste bitter.
