Bundleflower, Desmanthus
This cream-flowered native perennial is common throughout the tallgrass prairie and great plains. It is also know as Prairie Mimosa or False Sensitive Plant. Suitable for wildlife and pollinator plantings as well as wildflower seed mixtures. Nitrogen fixer. Good choice as a nutritious forage crop, also for prairie restoration, to improve marginal soils and control erosion. Traditional usage (Native American): maladies of the eyes and skin. Root bark is a source of N, DMT and gramine. Plant prefers sun and moist to dryish soils, grows well in clay and competes well with grasses. Sow in fall or spring. Scarify seed vigorously on medium grit sandpaper, soak overnight in water, barely cover with soil, tamp and keep warm and evenly moist until germination. Thin or transplant to 1 to 2 feet apart.. Host plant for the Reakirt’s Blue Butterfly. (Desmanthus illinoensis)