Vines appear in late winter in response to increased rainfall, and can climb or scramble to a length of 6 meters.

Vines emerge from a large, hard tuberous root which can reach several meters in length and weigh in excess of 100 kilograms.

Newly exposed tubers can be seen along roadcuts or eroded slopes and have a scaley, tan-colored surface.

The California manroot grows most vigorously by streams or in washes but is also successful in dry chaparral, at elevations up to 1600 metres.

In the Mediterranean climate areas of California, manroot emerges soon after winter rains begin, grows until late spring, and dies back completely in the heat and dryness of summer.

agrestis (found in the San Francisco Bay Area and Contra Costa County), and Marah fabaceus var.

[2] The tubers of Marah fabacea were crushed and thrown into surface waters by some Native American tribes, including the Kumeyaay[3] and the Coast Miwok,[4] to immobilize fish.

It is likely that the substance enters the fish's circulation through the gill arches where only a single-cell epithelium separates the water from the animal’s red blood cells.

Due to its saponin content, the large tuber of the manroot can be processed for a soap-like extract.