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Fabaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Oxytropis lambertii

Oxytropis lambertii

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant is toxic to cattle, does it concentrate selenium from the soil[1]? Horses that eat this plant become very difficult to handle and can imagine that a pebble is a large rock or that a wide stream is only narrow[2]. The plant contains toxins, possibly indolizidine alkaloids. The toxin can accumulate in the body and causes trembling, high excitability, paralysis and death[3].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Oxytropis lambertii is a very cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -35°c when fully dormant[1]. Easily grown in an ordinary garden soil but prefers a sandy loam[4]. Best in a deep, gritty perfectly drained soil in full sun[1]. Strongly resents winter wet[1]. A very ornamental[4] and variable plant[5]. Plants resent root disturbance and so should be pot-grown then and planted out into their permanent positions whilst still small[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria called Rhizobia. These bacteria form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen, plants may fail to flourish due to the absence of the appropriate Rhizobium species. Some of the nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[1].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in a greenhouse in early spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as the cotyledons emerge in order to avoid damage to the root. Grow them on in deep pots in a cold greenhouse or cold frame, and plant them out the following spring[1]. Division in spring[4]. Since the plant resents root disturbance this might not be a good idea. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Oxytropis+lambertii>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · 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.
  2. [2]The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. — Coffey. T. · Facts on File. · 1993 · ISBN 0-8160-2624-6 ↩︎A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
  3. [3]Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas — Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J · Botanical Research Institute, Texas. · 1999 · http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm · ISBN 1-889878-01-4 ↩︎An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada — Britton. N. L. Brown. A. · Dover Publications. New York. · 1970 · ISBN 0-486-22642-5 ↩︎Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.
  6. [6]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  7. [7]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  8. [8]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]Food Plants of the N. American Indians. — Yanovsky. E. · U.S. Depf of Agriculture. · ISBN - ↩︎A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  11. [11]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · 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.
  12. [12]Homeopathic Materia Medica — William Boericke, M.D. · http://www.homeoint.org/books/boericmm/index.htm ↩︎An on-line version of the book
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎