General
All parts of the plant have a bitter taste (this is the meaning of the genus name Marah, which comes from Hebrew). Despite this, the leaves have been used as a vegetable. The large tuber of the manroot can be processed for a soap-like extract.
Three varieties are recognised:
- Marah macrocarpus var. macrocarpus (found in much of Southern California)
- Marah macrocarpus var. major (found on the Channel Islands)
- Marah macrocarpus var. micranthus (found in northern portions of the range).
Read more about this topic: Marah Macrocarpus
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