I have grown Merremia Dissecta in the ground for a number of years - and get blooms the first year from seed and find that it does not do as well in a pot. My vine blooms profusely and is always loaded with beautiful blooms.
Food
The only record found of the roots being eaten
was recently published by Arenas (2003). Only
M. dissecta var. edentata (Meisner) O’Donell is
native in the Gran Chaco, Argentina, where Arenas
worked with the Toba and Wichí people (Fig.
2), although there are scattered locations where
M. dissecta var. dissecta has been introduced.
The second variety is restricted to South America
and has not been dispersed outside that region
(Fig. 2). Those plants were first discovered in
Brazil, grown in the botanical garden in Bonn
(horto botanico Bonoiensi), and called Ipomoea
fulva by Giuseppe Bertolini in 1838. Then
George Gardner found them in Rio de Janeiro
and called them I. nigricans in 1842. Meisner,
studying the family for Martius’s Flora Brasiliensis,
did not think that the climbers should be given
specific rank and called them I. dissecta var. edentata
in 1869. Meisner (1869) was obviously confused
by this problem, because he also named
them I. maximiliani in spite of their having two
previous epithets at species rank. It was not until
O’Donell (1941) examined the genus that the variety
was moved to M. dissecta var. edentata.
While there are clear similarities between these
two variations, corollas are completely white in
M. dissecta var. edentata but white with a reddishpurplish
center in M. dissecta var. dissecta. Moreover,
the sepals average longer (20–35 mm.) in
var. edentata than in var. dissecta (18–25 mm.).
Leaf lobes in var. dissecta are toothed while those
in var. edentata are mostly entire.
Arenas (2003) found only some of the Tobas
using the plants, and although the Wichí formerly
used them assiduously, only those in more remote
villages still do. Roots are cut up if large, but left intact
if small. The roots are put in a pot and boiled,
or sometimes they are baked in ashes. Cooked roots
are eaten with abundant oil as a dressing. Arenas
thought that they tasted a little like the batata (Ipomoea
batatas), although they tended to be insipid.
Formerly they were taken entirely from wild places,
but a few individuals now cultivate them in their
home gardens. This is an important food only during the winter drought period.
Summary and Discussion
Merremia dissecta was discovered in the 1700s
at nearly the same time in Florida, the Caribbean,
and Mexico. Subsequently, the species was divided
into two varieties, M. dissecta var. dissecta
(Caribbean region) and M. dissecta var. edentata
(South America, south of the Amazon River).
Common names, ethnobotany, history, and distributions
indicate that this species has been used
by humans for multiple purposes. Variety dissecta
was moved around the world by the 1800s, although
the South American var. edentata has not
been transported outside its native range. People
moved var. dissecta because it is considered a
condiment, medicine, and an ornamental
climber. These various uses date from at least the
1800s. While the species has a venerable history
of human association and use beyond being cultivated
simply as an ornamental, it has not received
wide acknowledgment for its various uses. Even
in horticultural literature, the species has been
slighted. Merremia dissecta deserves wider recognition
and more study, particularly because of its
association with an almond flavor, use to enhance
food taste, and in medicines.
