Galactia marginalis Bentham

Leguminosae

Synonyms

• Cologonia heterophylla Gillies ex Hooker et Arnott (1832, "1833")
• Galactia heterophylla (Hooker et Arnott) Vail (1950)

Common name:

Edible Milkpea

Description:

Perennial, herbaceous, up to 65 cm high; stems woody, rhizomatous or erect; inconspicuous. Slow growing in spring-summer, adapted to subtropical areas, tolerates frosts and droughts

Distribution:

Broad distribution, Southwest U.S.A. to Northern Argentina, Southern Brazil and Uruguay.

Habitat:

On slopes, road sides, low lying fields not intensely grazed; good growth on clay, calcareous or stony soils, sometimes in sandy soils; not close to water, streams or sea coast.

Use:

Poor forage production well accepted by cattle. Crude protein content 13.8 %, 0.12 % P. Good field persistence due to strong root system.

Nodulation & N fixation:

Rhizobiology poorly studied; one species in Arizona did not show nodules either on its natural environment or in greenhouse experiments.

References:

Allen & Allen (1981); Burkart (1971) ; Fernández et al. (1988) ; Izaguirre & Beyhaut (1998); Rosengurtt (1943): (1946)