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Plukenetia volubilis
Sacha inchi is a perennial climbing shrub from tropical South America, grown mainly for its edible seeds rich in oil. It needs warmth, steady moisture, good drainage and support to climb.
Plukenetia volubilis, commonly known as sacha inchi, sacha peanut, mountain peanut, Inca nut or Inca-peanut, is a perennial plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, having small trichomes on its leaves.
It is native to tropical South America and the Caribbean. Although its raw seeds and leaves contain toxins, these components are safe for consumption after roasting.
When raw, P. volubilis seeds and leaves contain appreciable amounts of alkaloids, saponins, and lectins which may be toxic if consumed before cooking, but are degraded by roasting.
It is native to much of tropical South America (Suriname, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and northwestern Brazil), as well as some of the Windward Islands in the Caribbean.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Plukenetia volubilis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
