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Desmanthus illinoensis

Common name:	Prairie Mimosa	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	(Michx.)MacMill. ex B.L.Rob.& Fernald.	Botanical references:	200, 235, 274
Synonyms:	Desmanthus brachylobus, Acuan illinoensis ((Michx.)Kuntze.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. America - Ohio to N. Dakota, New Mexico to Mississippi.
Habitat:	Prairies, river banks and fields[222, 235]. Ditches, stream bottoms, fields, roadsides and low areas, often on clay soils[274].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	5	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Acuan illinoense[B,G,P] Mimosa illinoensis[B,G,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Illinois Bundleflower [H], Prairie Bundle-flower [B], Prairie Bundleflower [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.3m. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 5/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Seed.

Seed - cooked. Rich in protein but without much flavour[183]. The seedpods are about 25mm long and contain 3 - 5 small seeds[235]. They are freely borne in the plants native environment, but will have to be very freely produced in this country if it is to be a worthwhile crop[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antipruritic Ophthalmic.

A leaf tea has been used in the treatment of itchy skin[222, 257].
Five seeds have been placed in the eye at night and washed out in the morning to treat trachoma[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a moist but well-drained soil in full sun[200]. Plants are often found growing in clay soils in the wild[274].
Suitable for the wild garden or other naturalistic plantings[200]. In favourable situations this plant can self-sow to the point of nuisance[200].
This plant is being evaluated by the Land Institute of Salina, Kansas, as an edible legume for growing with perennial grains in a non-tillage permaculture system[183]. It is certainly worthy of more attention in this country, though the small seed size mitigates against its use[K].
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[200].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in a cold frame in the spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
If you have sufficient seed then it is probably worthwhile sowing some in situ in mid to late spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Staple seed crops from perennials.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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