Mr. W.M. Hobbs of Smithfield, Route 1, brought to town Saturday a large Indian potato, known as a wild potato, which he found half buried in a ditch on his farm several days ago. The potato weighted 13 ½ pounds and measures 17 inches from end to end. It is said by old people that Indians made bread from these potatoes. The inside of this potato is of a white mealy substance, while the outside is dark and rough, resembling the bark of a tree. Quite a number have examined with interest this huge potato since it was brought to this office.
From the front page of The Smithfield Herald, Tuesday morning, Oct. 13, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073982/1925-10-13/ed-1/seq-1/
-=- I asked the AI Copilot about wild potatoes used by the Indians of North Carolina and was told: "Hopniss or hapniss was the Indian name of a wild plant which they ate . . . The roots resemble potatoes, and were boiled by the Indians, who eat them instead of bread. . . . the Indians who live further in the country do not only eat these roots, which are equal in goodness to … And then gave a link to the following website:
Hopniss: North America wild tuber, Indian Potato, Groundnut (Apios americana) at www.wildflowers-and-weeds. Com/Edible.Plants/Article/s Hopniss.htm with an interesting article by Sam Thayer published in The Forager, Summer/Fall 2002.
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