Lathyrus ornatus
| Lathyrus ornatus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lathyrus ornatus (common name: bush vetchling)
Propagation: Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in early spring in a cold frame[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
If you have sufficient seed, then it can also be sown in situ in mid spring[1].
Division in spring. It may not transplant well so care should be taken[1].
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in any moderately good garden soil but preferring a position in full sun[1].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[1].
Range: Western N. America - Oklahoma to Kansas and South Dakota, west to Colorado and Utah.
Habitat: Prairies and plains[2]. Dry open pinewoods, 1500 - 2100 metres in Arizona.
Edibility: Seedpods - cooked[3][4][5][6].
Medicinal: The plant has been used to help remove the placenta after child birth[7].
The plant has disinfectant properties, a cold infusion has been used internally and as a wash in the treatment of 'deer infection'[7].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Although no records of toxicity have been found for this plant, the seed of some species in this genus contain a toxic amino acid that can cause a severe disease of the nervous system known as 'lathyrism' if they are eaten in large amounts (although small
Also Known As: L. eucosmus. Butters.&St.John.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.