ABSTRACT
By starting the plant indoors, jicama can be grown outdoors as far north as southern Canada, at least as an attractive ornamental. It blooms profusely, producing white to lavender §owers that resemble sweet peas and large heart-shaped leaves. (When grown for food, the §owers are pinched off to promote better root development.) Five to 9 months is required to produce good-sized roots, and the plants are killed by frost, so growing jicama as a vegetable can be done only in milder areas of the United States and Europe. Although the starchy root is edible, the above-ground parts of the plant are toxic. Those attempting to grow it should take care that no humans or animals mistakenly eat the poisonous, narcotic leaves and seeds. The young pods are sometimes eaten as a vegetable in the tropical areas where jicama is cultivated but are probably best avoided because of their content of rotenone (see the following sections).
