If I had to choose a favorite plant family I'd say the legume family, Fabaceae, is a top contender. I don't think I have met too many legumes I don't like besides some aggressive family members who need a good talking to. This includes Chinese wisteria, mimosa tree and kudzu. Especially down South where I'm from, Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) and kudzu (Pueraria montana) take over roadsides and strangle trees. You'll be driving and wondering why the roadside looks like someone put a giant green blanket over it, like someone was tucking it in for the night. The reality is the vegetation is completely smothered by kudzu. Kudzu is another invasive plant that was purposely brought into Philadelphia as an ornamental in the 1800s (come on man). Most large plant families are going to have some bad eggs but I'm not here to let them spoil my pea party, let's get into some legumes!
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| An example of what kudzu does to vegetation |
The Fabaceae family (legume/pea family) is a huge family with over 19,000 species, many are important crops we eat or native species. If you're a vegetable gardener you'd be very familiar with this family - green beans, peas, and peanuts are a few examples of those in the Fabaceae family that we consume.
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| Yellow wax beans in the Summer |
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Snap peas in the Spring. So yummy!
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During my four years working on a farm I learned a lot about soil health. The dry textbook I had to read for my Soil Science class in college pales in comparison to the knowledge actually gained working with the soil. We practiced cover cropping for several reasons including to protect the soil, rotate crops but also to build nutrients. The mix would include field peas, crimson clover, and hairy vetch - all of the Fabaceae family.
While turning the cover crop into the soil once it is cut down will build nutrients, these pea family plants mentioned also work their magic through a process called Nitrogen Fixation. This process involves nodules forming on the roots of legume plants, nodules that contain a nitrogen fixing bacteria. This bacteria can take atmospheric nitrogen and convert it to a form plants can use. That's pretty cool right?? This helps enrich the soil with readily available nitrogen for the next crops, reducing the amount of fertilizer needed.
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| Crimson clover in the cover crop mix |
All members of the Fabaceae family produce a fruit that is called a legume, but not all fruits are edible. If you see a fruit pod that is a legume on a plant then you have a plant in the pea family. The flowers are fairly distinct for most plants, with some variation. There are usually 5 petals with one being a larger 'lip'. The leaves are typically compound, meaning one leaf is made up of many smaller leaflets.
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| The fruit of American groundnut, Apios Americana. The pods tell us it's in the pea family! |
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| A compound leaf. Leaflets make up the entire leaf. Typical of the pea family. |
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A bee on a bean flower. You can see the petal forms an upper 'lip'
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This is a huge family and I can't highlight them all but here are some favorites. The lovely spring blooming false blue indigo (Baptisia australis), purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea) which you may have seen blooming at central along the stairs, and fragrant annual sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus). Some trees include Redbud (Cercis canadensis) that colors forests with pops of pink and Yellowood (Cladastris kentukea)
with drooping clusters of fragrant white flowers in the late Spring.
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| Purple prairie clover at central. Bees love this! |
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| A bee on the fragrant sweet peas |
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| Yellowwood at Jenkins Arboretum |
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| Redbud beginning to bloom along the oak trail |
Some good news if you like wisteria, yes there is a native species! American wisteria (Wisteria Frutescens) does require pruning to control the size like any other wisteria but overall it is less aggressive and a smaller size. Much more pretty in my opinion too! Wisteria floribunda, Japanese Wisteria, has the dramatic long panicles of flowers as seen below at Chanticleer. All wisteria will require pruning but especially the Chinese and Japanese species and let me tell you it can be a little annoying - I was pruning wisteria at the estate weekly in the Summer. American groundnut or potato vine (Apios Americana) pictured above is another native vine. One cool thing about this vine is it actually bears edible beans and tubers, Indigenous American tribes often consumed this plant. This is a very underused native plant rarely used in gardens, more groundnut please!
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| American wisteria at Jenkins Arboretum |
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| Japanese wisteria putting on an insane show at Chanticleer |
Now what's gotten me into talking about this big family? Plants I saw in the meadow recently and one I found at the garden center. In the meadow I have seen two native legumes - wild senna (Senna hebecarpa) and partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata). Wild senna has the typical compound leaves of the Fabaceae and tight clusters of yellow flowers that are especially attractive to bumble bees. It hosts several species of Sulphur butterfly caterpillars, the fruit is enjoyed by birds and soil is improved. What can't this plant do?
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| A close up of the flowers of Wild Senna |
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Wild Senna in the Meadow
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Unlike perennial wild senna, partridge pea is an annual but other than that they hold many similar beneficial characteristics. Flowers are bright yellow in clusters of 2-6 and are also loved by pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Like wild senna, birds love the fruit and Sulphurs and Sleepy Orange caterpillars enjoy the leaves. These are two excellent native legumes typically found growing in wet meadows, open woodlands and disturbed areas.
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| A wee baby Partridge pea a new spot in the meadow |
While picking up some plants the other week I stumbled upon a plant at the nursery that I couldn't resist getting. I mean I was really struggling in there, fighting for my life not to buy every interesting plant. The sweat dripping down my forehead told me it was time to go and this cool plant came with me, a fragrance of buttered popcorn trailing with it. The popcorn plant, Senna (or Cassia) didymobotrya, looks so much like the two above plants but it is a native to tropical areas of Africa where it grows as a shrub. Here it is used a fun annual that adds a tropical feel to gardens, plus touching the leaves you get wafts of popcorn! If you stop by Abington North garden feel free to touch the leaves.
What are your favorite legumes? Any beans you love to grow or ones you get so tired of picking by the end of the summer you just have to let it go? I know that happens to me. Comment below!!
Resources:
Legumes
Pea family
Go Botany
