Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy. The dormant plant is very cold-hardy, though the young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts. It prefers growing in a continental climate, doing best in eastern and south-eastern England. Most members of this genus transplant easily, even when fairly large.

Young leaves cooked. Some caution is advised on this entry since the leaves are likely to contain toxic saponins (see notes above on toxicity). Seed - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a flour and used as a gruel. The starch is extracted and eaten. The seed is quite large, about 25 - 30mm in diameter, and is easily harvested. Unfortunately it is also rich in saponins and these need to be removed before the seed can be eaten. See also the notes above on toxicity. The following notes apply to A. californica, but are probably also relevant here:- The seed needs to be leached of toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the Indians would do this by slow-roasting the nuts (which would have rendered the saponins harmless) and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days. Most of the minerals etc would also have been leached out by this treatment.

Seed - best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather. The seed has a very limited viability and must not be allowed to dry out. Stored seed should be soaked for 24 hours prior to sowing and even after this may still not be viable. It is best to sow the seed with its 'scar' downwards. If sowing the seed in a cold frame, pot up the seedlings in early spring and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.

Mountains, especially in ravines, all over Japan. In deciduous forests, especially in moist slopes along streams.