Oxytropis lambertii
Crazy Weed
a perennial member of the Oxytropis genus in the family Leguminosae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Leguminosae
- Genus
- Oxytropis
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Height
- 0.3 m
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
Uses
Toxicity
Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
The plant is toxic to cattle, does it concentrate selenium from the soil[5]? 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[6]. The plant contains toxins, possibly indolizidine alkaloids. The toxin can accumulate in the body and causes trembling, high excitability, paralysis and death[9].
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Root[2][3][4]. The whole plant, including the roots, is eaten by horses[8]. No further details are given, but caution is advised, see notes at top of page. Used to make a mush, or parched and used for food[8]. This report is probably referring to the seeds[K].
- Plant part
- Root
- Plant part
- Seed
Environment
- Range
- N. America - Minnesota to N Dakota, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, south to Texas and New Mexico
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 3+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
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 the greenhouse and plant them out the following spring[5]. Division in spring[1]. Since the plant resents root disturbance this might not be a good idea.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Easily grown in an ordinary garden soil but prefers a sandy loam[1]. Best in a deep, gritty perfectly drained soil in full sun[5]. Strongly resents winter wet[5]. A very ornamental[1] and variable plant[7]. Plants resent root disturbance and so should be pot-grown then and planted out into their permanent positions whilst still small[5]. 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[5].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993-00-00 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm
Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00