Fabaceae FAMILY

Eysenhardtia orthocarpa

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub

Growth—

Eysenhardtia orthocarpa is native from the warm temperate zone of Arizona to the tropics of central Mexico. It is found in mainly sub-arid zones but experiences a mean annual rainfall that can be as low as 50mm but is usually within the range 400 - 1,750mm Succeeds in full sun and in light shade. Found in the wild on limestone soils, on rocky granite slopes and on conglomerate soils^[1]. Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen^[2].

Propagation

Seed - sow in spring in trays in light shade in a greenhouse. No presoaking is necessary, though 12 hours in warm water might speed up the process. Germination is best at daytime temperatures of 20 - 30°c with 12 hours of light each day, though it will also germinate in the dark at temperatures from 15 - 40°c^[3]. Be very careful with the seedlings, they are very susceptible to damping off. Pot up when seedlings have three sets of true leaves and plant out when around 15 - 25cm tall. Seed can also be sown whilst still in the seedpods. The pods should be soaked for 72 hours prior to sowing, with the water being changed every 8 hours^[3]. Cuttings of soft or semi-hard wood, 10 - 15cm long, taken in the summer and early autumn. Cuttings tend to root in 3 - 4 weeks^[3]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Eysenhardtia+orthocarpa>

Pollinators

Bees

References

[1]Revisión del género Eysenhardtiaa (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae). — Ramiro Cruz Durán · Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México · 2006 ↩︎
[2]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
[3]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
[4]Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium Vol. 1 — Government Printing Office; Washingtom · 1895 ↩︎A botanical magazine containing a range of articles.
[5]The Woods of the United States — Sargent C.S. · D. Appleton & Co.; New York · 1885 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Contains information on the woods of a large number of N. American species of trees and shrubs. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
[6]The Leguminosae; A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation — Allen O.N.; Allen E.K. · University of Wisconsin · 1981 · ISBN 0-333-32221-5 ↩︎An amazing and comprehensive work, giving a brief guide to the many genera of the family Fabaceae and also the principle uses of the genus.