Fabaceae FAMILY

Glycine tomentella

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial Climber

Growth—

Glycine tomentella is native to mainly subtropical and tropical regions ofChina, the Philippines and south to Australia., entering the warm temperate zone in New South Wales. It does experience frost in at least part of its range. Requires a suny position. Often found in the wild on heavy, black basaltic clay soils^[1]. 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^[1]. The plant produces seeds profusely, but over a very long period, making harvesting rather difficult^[1].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in early spring in a greenhouse. The seed should germinate within two weeks at a temperature between 12 - 16°c^[2]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Glycine+tomentella>

Pollinators

Insects

References

[1]Grassland Species - Profiles — http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/Default.htm ↩︎Terse information on over 650 species of plants that grow in grassland, including trees, shrubs and perennial plants as well as grasses. Gives a brief description of the plant, its range and habitat and some of its uses.
[2]Oriental Vegetables — Larkcom J. · John Murray · 1991 · ISBN 0-7195-4781-4 ↩︎Well written and very informative.
[3]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
[4]Flora of New South Wales — http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/floraonline.htm ↩︎An on-line resource giving a brief botanical description of all the native plants of New South Wales, their habitat and range, together with diagrams and photographs of the plants.
[5]Antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic effects of the aqueous extracts from Glycine species and its bioa — Shyh‑Shyun Huang, Shan‑Yu Su, Jui‑Shu Chang et al · 2016 · http://10.1186/s40529-016-0153-7 ↩︎