Oxytropis lambertii
| Oxytropis lambertii | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Oxytropis lambertii (common name: crazy weed)
Propagation: Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in a greenhouse in early spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as the cotyledons emerge in order to avoid damage to the root. Grow them on in the greenhouse and plant them out the following spring[1].
Division in spring[2]. Since the plant resents root disturbance this might not be a good idea.
Cultivation: Easily grown in an ordinary garden soil but prefers a sandy loam[2]. Best in a deep, gritty perfectly drained soil in full sun[1]. Strongly resents winter wet[1].
A very ornamental[2] and variable plant[3].
Plants resent root disturbance and so should be pot-grown then and planted out into their permanent positions whilst still small[1].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria called Rhizobia. These bacteria form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen, plants may fail to flourish due to the absence of the appropriate Rhizobium species. Some of the nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[1].
Range: N. America - Minnesota to N Dakota, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, south to Texas and New Mexico
Habitat: Dry prairies, calcareous gravels and bluffs[4]. Limestone outcrops in Texas[5].
Edibility: Root[6][7][8]. The whole plant, including the roots, is eaten by horses[9]. No further details are given, but caution is advised, see notes at top of page.
Used to make a mush, or parched and used for food[9]. This report is probably referring to the seeds[K].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The plant is toxic to cattle, does it concentrate selenium from the soil[1]? Horses that eat this plant become very difficult to handle and can imagine that a pebble is a large rock or that a wide stream is only narrow[10].
The plant contains toxins,
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.