Strophostyles helvola
Strophostyles helvola
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Although it prefers sandy soils, it can be found on a wide range of medium to fine-textured upland 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[2].
Propagation
Seed - sow in situ mid to late spring[1]. Pre-soaking the seed for 12 hours in warm water can help to speed up germination. If seeds are in short supply, then sow in a seedtray in a greenhouse, pricking out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to hold and plant out when 15cm tall. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Strophostyles+helvola>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]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.
- [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]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.
- [4]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.