Dalea searlsiae, commonly known as Searls' prairie clover, is a perennial legume species belonging to the Dalea genus. The species is found through arid regions of the southwestern United States and can survive in low moisture conditions. The species forms symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that can improve soil nutrient levels. Its large inflorescence attracts many species of pollinators, and it lacks toxins found in similar legume species. As a result, the species has been considered for use in rangeland restoration and revegetation projects.
Bradyrhizobium is a genus of Gram-negative soil bacteria, many of which fix nitrogen. Nitrogen fixation is an important part of the nitrogen cycle. Plants cannot use atmospheric nitrogen (N2); they must use nitrogen compounds such as nitrates.
Caragana halodendron is a species of flowering plant in the pea family (Fabaceae). It is known by several common names, including common salt tree and Russian salt tree. It is native to Russia and southern Asia, but it can be found on other continents where it is an introduced species, and one that is often a noxious weed. This is a deciduous spiny shrub sprawling to a few meters in maximum width and up to three meters tall. Stems branch from the base and bear clusters of about four leaflets on sharp spurs. The ends of branches narrow to spines. Flowers also appear at the ends of spurs in clusters of two to four pink pealike blossoms each one to two centimeters wide. The fruit is a black woody inflated pod about 2 centimeters long containing legume seeds. The plant has a deep and wide root system, with the lateral roots sending up new shoots. In this manner the plant forms extensive thickets. When introduced to an area of suitable climate, such as California where it is a known weed, it can invade cultivated land and spread relatively quickly. It is tolerant of saline soils.
Astragalus crotalariae is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Salton milkvetch. It is native to the Colorado Desert in California and other Sonoran Deserts in Arizona and northern Mexico. It grows in desert scrub habitat, including the Salton Sink in the Coachella Valley.
Prosopis strombulifera is a species of mesquite or algarrobo, a shrub in the legume family. It is known by the English common names Argentine screwbean and creeping screwbean and the Spanish common name retortuño. This shrub is native to Argentina, where it grows in arid and saline soils. It became well known in California after it was introduced to Imperial County and took hold in the wild, growing as an invasive noxious weed. The plant grows from a network of long, spreading roots and may grow to three meters in height. Many plants may grow together in an area, forming a monotypic stand. The shrub has waxy-textured leaves made up of a pair of leaflets which are each divided into several pairs of secondary leaflets each up to a centimeter long. Whitish spines up to 2 cm long appear near the leaf bases. The inflorescence is a spherical head of many very narrow tubelike yellow flowers, the head measuring about 1.5 cm wide. The fruit is a bright yellow seed pod coiled tightly into a cylindrical stick up to 5 cm long. It contains several greenish seeds, each about 0.5 cm long.
Sisymbrium loeselii is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by several common names, including small tumbleweed mustard, false London-rocket, throughe(ver:kashmiri) and tall hedge mustard. It is native to Eurasia, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species and in some areas a common roadside weed.
Tamarix chinensis is a species of tamarisk known by the common names five-stamen tamarisk and Chinese tamarisk or saltcedar. It is native to China and Korea, and it is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species and sometimes an invasive noxious weed. It easily inhabits moist habitat with saline soils. It may grow as a tree with a single trunk or as a shrub with several spreading erect branches reaching 6 metres or more in maximum height. It has been known to reach 12 metres. It has reddish, brown, or black bark. The small, multibranched twigs are covered in small lance-shaped, scale-like leaves which are no more than about 3 mm long. The inflorescence is a dense raceme of flowers a few cm long. Each fragrant flower has five petals which are usually pink but range from white to red.
Vicia benghalensis is a species of vetch known by the common names purple vetch and reddish tufted vetch. It is native to southern Europe, North Africa, and nearby islands, and it is utilized elsewhere in agriculture and may be present in the wild as an introduced species. It is an annual herb with a climbing stem which is coated in hairs, often densely, making the plant appear silvery white. Each leaf is made up of several pairs of elongated leaflets which measure up to 3 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a one-side raceme of several dark reddish purple flowers. Each flower has a densely hairy calyx of sepals and a tubular corolla between one and two centimeters in length. The fruit is a flat, hairy legume pod up to 3.5 centimeters long containing multiple seeds.
Aeschynomene virginica is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Virginia jointvetch and sensitive jointvetch. It is native to a small section of the East Coast of the United States, where it has a fluctuating annual global population scattered in about 20 mostly small occurrences. Counts and estimates revealed two populations in New Jersey including several thousand individuals, one population of a few hundred plants in Maryland, several variable and unstable populations in ditches in North Carolina, and several populations including about 5000 individuals in Virginia. Habitat alteration has reduced the number of sites where the plant can grow. The plant became a federally listed threatened species of the United States in 1992.
Kummerowia stipulacea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Korean clover. It is native to China, Japan, Korea, and Russia, and it is present in the eastern United States as an introduced species.
Astragalus australis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Indian milkvetch. It is native to much of the Northern Hemisphere, including northern North America, Europe, and temperate Asia.
Aeschynomene americana is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legume) known by many common names, including shyleaf, forage aeschynomene, American joint vetch, thornless mimosa, bastard sensitive plant (Jamaica), pega pega, pega ropa, antejuela, ronte, cujicillo, and dormilonga. It is native to Central America, parts of South America, the West Indies, and Florida. It is now found in the US, in Australia and in South-East Asia.
Lupinus arcticus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Arctic lupine or subalpine lupine. It is native to northwestern North America, where it occurs from Oregon north to Alaska and east to Nunavut. It is a common wildflower in British Columbia.
Desmanthus virgatus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family that is known by many common names, including wild tantan, prostrate bundleflower, dwarf koa, desmanto, acacia courant, acacia savane, pompon blank, adormidera, brusca prieta, frijolillo, ground tamarind, guajillo, guashillo, huarangillo, langalet, petit acacia, petit cassie, petit mimosa, virgate mimosa, and slender mimosa, as well as simply desmanthus. It is native to the American tropics and subtropics but is present elsewhere as an introduced species. In some areas it is cultivated as a fodder and forage crop.
Aeschynomene indica is a species of flowering plant in the legume family. Common names include Indian jointvetch, kat sola, budda pea, curly indigo, hard sola, northern jointvetch, indische Schampflanze (German), angiquinho, maricazinho, papquinha, pinheirinho, he meng (Chinese), kusanemu (Japanese), diya siyambala (Sinhala), and ikin sihk (Pohnpeian).
Galega orientalis is a species of flowering plant in the Fabaceae, the legume family. It is known commonly as fodder galega and eastern galega. It is cultivated as a fodder and forage for livestock.
Euonymus hamiltonianus, known by the common names Hamilton's spindletree, Himalayan spindle, and Siebold's spindle is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae. It is native to Asia, where it is distributed in Afghanistan, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Thailand, and Myanmar. This is one of the most common Euonymus species. It is cultivated in gardens and landscapes in other parts of the world.
Alysicarpus vaginalis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to parts of Africa and Asia, and it has been introduced to other continents, such as Australia and the Americas. It is cultivated as a fodder for livestock, for erosion control, and as a green manure. Common names include alyce clover, buffalo clover, buffalo-bur, one-leaf clover, and white moneywort.
Stachys floridana is a species of betony in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the United States, where its true native range is probably limited to Florida, but today it is known throughout the Southeast as an introduced species and common weed. It occurs as far west as Texas, and it has been recorded in California. Its common names include Florida betony, Florida hedgenettle, and rattlesnake weed. It has been called wild artichoke, but it is not closely related to artichoke. The plant was the Florida Department of Agriculture's "Weed of the Month" for February 2010.
Canavalia cathartica, commonly known as maunaloa in the Hawaiian language, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. The Hawaiian name translates as long mountain. In English it may also be known as poisonous sea bean, ground jack bean, horse bean, silky sea bean or wild bean. It has a Paleotropical distribution, occurring throughout tropical regions in Asia, Africa, Australia, and many Pacific Islands, and extending just into subtropical areas. It is not native to Hawaii, and is an invasive species there.
