Prairie turnip (Pediomelum esculentum)

Legume to 1 foot tall. Also known as Indian breadroot, for the enlarged root that was harvested and eaten by Plains Indians. Esculenta is Latin for edible. Blooms early summer. Light bluish flowers in a dense spike. Alternate leaves palmately compound. Oblong pods (fruits). Dry prairies. Late in the season, an abscission layer forms near the ground and allows the plant to go tumbling across the prairie, scattering its seeds.