Sweet Unicorn Plant (Proboscidea fragrans)
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Annual
- Exposure
- Full sun
Cultivation
Requires a well-drained porous fertile soil in a warm sheltered position. A frost-tender species, it can be grown outdoors in Britain as a half-hardy annual. This species is closely related to P. louisianica.
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts.
Edible uses
Leaves - cooked as a potherb with beans. The half-ripe seedpods are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. Seed - cooked.
Material uses
The ripe seedpods are used as an ornament on willow baskets.
Habitat
Not known
Native range
South-western N. America - Texas to Mexico.