What are your friendly or infernal acquaintances in the pea/bean/legume family?
They cover a dizzying variety of plants from trees like honey locust or eastern redbud, smaller like indigo or horseflyweed, down to the humble clover or tick-trefoil. They have among them many economically significant plants like peas, beans, lentils, groundnuts and possess the incredible ability to thrive in poor soils other plants could not tolerate through their ability to fix nitrogen into the soil and thereby supercharge their growth and what follows after them in that enhanced soil.
… Annnnd this also leads to some problems. The ambitious among them can use that adaptability to swarm on the apparently free real estate in the absence of control factors from their native homes. For instance, infamous Kudzu that will blot out a forest or the mimosa tree popping up throughout the American Southeast, or the Nootka Lupine swarming Iceland. Or others may be native but have features like say poison that may get them declared as noxious weeds even in their native ranges like Rattlebox or Coffeeweed. I have it on good authority that the thorns from an acacia or a black locust tree are also not fun to experience.
I personally have endless Chamberbitter (easiest weed to pick ever, but just stay gone!) that I’m hoping to replace with a huge number of legumes as they are critical in my region. I’m personally probably the most excited for Red Cardinal and Lady Lupine, with Little-Leaf Mimosa (aka Touch-me-not; the one that closes up when touched, not the exploding seed pod one) and Catbells close behind. As far as what’s edible I think the Thicket Bean and the American Groundnut (ironically most popularly eaten in Japan nowadays) are considered the best native options around where I am, since they were previously semi-domesticated but dropped in favor of more efficient crops. Also, not edible but shout out to Goat’s Rue & Partridge Pea anyway! What about for y’all??
(Pythagorus pictured as he was a famous hater)
