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Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-577
Sacha Inchi
Plukenetia volubilis
Sacha Inchi is a fast-growing tropical vine grown for star-shaped seed capsules whose kernels are 35 to 60 percent oil and 27 percent protein - eaten roasted, or pressed into a high-quality oil used both in cooking and in cosmetics. Its leaves are cooked as a vegetable, and the foliage and leftover press cake are recognised livestock feed. Unlike most oilseed crops, it tolerates semi-shade as well as full sun and stays small enough - about 2 m - to grow in a container or under cover where winters bring frost. It is a scrambling climber rather than a free-standing plant, so it needs a trellis or a host to climb into.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 10–12
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moist
Vertical layer
Vine- Soil pH
- 4.5–7
- Plant type
- Vine
- Mature height
- 6.6 ft
- Mature spread
- 8 in
- Plant spacing
- 6.6–9.8 ft
- Root type
- Not yet recorded
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
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Cyclanthera pedata
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African Walnut
Plukenetia conophora
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Banana Passionfruit
Passiflora tarminiana
Banana Passionfruit is a fast-climbing vine that produces a deep yellow to orange fruit with sweet aromatic pulp, eaten raw or turned into…
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Betel
Piper betle
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Bitter Melon
Momordica charantia
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Black Pepper Vine
Piper nigrum
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
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