Practical
Plants

Trigonella caerulea

Sweet Trefoil

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

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual
Height
0.6 m
Fertility
Insects
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

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

Young seedlings are eaten with oil and salt[5]. The leaves and young plants are eaten cooked[2][3][4]. The dried powdered leaves and flowers are used as a flavouring and colouring for bread etc[5]. They are also used as a condiment in soups and potato dishes[5]. A decoction of the leaves is used as an aromatic tea and as a flavouring for China tea[5].

Product or use
Condiment
Product or use
Tea
Plant part
Leaves

Ecology and functions

Nitrogen fixer

Environment

Range
Europe - Mediterranean? The origin of this plant is obscure[8]
Habitat
Naturalized on waste and arable land[6].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no 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.

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in situ.

Cultivation

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

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1]. Prefers a well-drained loamy soil in full sun[6]. Cultivated in the Mediterranean for its leaves which are used as a flavouring[7][9][3]. 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[6]. When removing plant remains at the end of the growing season, it is best to only remove the aerial parts of the plant, leaving the roots in the ground to decay and release their nitrogen.

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  3. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩1↩2

  4. Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977-00-00

    ↩

  5. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

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

    ↩1↩2↩3

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

    ↩

  8. ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964-00-00

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  9. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

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