About

Hedysarum multijugum is a member of the Hedysarum group, a set of herbs or deciduous shrubs noted for odd-pinnate leaves whose entire leaflets resemble those of sweet peas. It bears peduncled racemes or heads of pea-type flowers that appear in the UK from June to August. Petals in the genus range from pink and purplish to yellow or whitish, and the flowers have diadelphous stamens (9+1). The fruit is a lomentum that breaks into single-seeded segments on ripening.

About the genus

Hedysarum (sweetvetch) is a genus of the botanical family Fabaceae, consisting of about 200 species of annual or perennial herbs found in Asia, Europe, North Africa, and North America.

Wikipedia contributors, "Hedysarum", CC BY-SA 4.0 — Hedysarum

In the garden

Hedysarum multijugum sits within a genus of roughly 200 Hedysarum species distributed across Asia, Europe, North Africa and North America. Members of the group may be herbaceous or develop as deciduous shrubs; leaves are odd-pinnate with entire leaflets and the inflorescences form as peduncled racemes or compact heads. Flowering in the UK runs from June to August, and petals across the genus occur in shades from pink and purplish to yellow or whitish. The flowers show a typical papilionaceous form with a longer vexillum and a keel comparable in length to the wings, and the stamens are diadelphous (9+1). Fruits are lomenta: segmented legumes whose parts split into single-seeded sections as they ripen. Ecologically, some Hedysarum species serve as foodplants for Lepidoptera larvae, including species such as Coleophora accordella. Garden use and propagation are informed by these structural traits: the pea-like blooms contribute to mid-summer interest and the lomentous fruit offers a clear means of seed collection. The segmented pods are practical to harvest for sowing, since each ripe section contains a single seed ready for propagation.

More in the Hedysarum genus

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  Hedysarum alpinum
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  Hedysarum coronariumSulla
• 
  Hedysarum gmelinii
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  Hedysarum microcalyxSweetvetch
• Hedysarum
• Hedysarum macedonicumSweetvetch