Practical
Plants

Sesbania herbacea

Colorado River Hemp

an annual member of the Sesbania genus in the family Leguminosae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual
Height
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 seeds may be poisonous[4].

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A strong fibre obtained from the bark can be used for making nets etc[6][1][2]. It was a very important fibre plant for the native North American Indians[4].

Product or use
Fibre

Ecology and functions

Nitrogen fixer

Environment

Range
Southern and South-western N. America - Alabama to Texas and north to Oklahoma.
Habitat
Fields and low ground[5].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed -

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

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[3].

References

  1. Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.

    ↩

  2. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

    ↩

  3. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩

  4. 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

    ↩1↩2

  5. Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00

    ↩

  6. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

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