Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures ( Shrubs ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Another photo of Illinois Bundleflower, (Desmanthus illinoensis)

The seeds are well liked by gamebirds, including the ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite, and greater prairie chicken. Mammalian herbivores munch on the leaves and eat the seedpods which have a high protein content. Often it is planted in pastures to feed cattle and other livestock. It is classed as is an important native legume and it produces abundant, nutritious hay.

Although some consider the blooms not showy enough to include in a cultivated garden and only recommend that they be included in native and naturalistic plantings, I find them quite attracive. Robert and Subin, the owners of the plant I photograhed, eat the green seedpods raw in salads or just by themselves because of their nutritional value. I have not tried them myself, so I do not know how they taste. Their plant is a little over 6 feet tall as have been other specimens I have observed in their natural habitat.

Robert's and Subin's plant next to a 6 foot tall privacy fence ...