Common Name: Sweet Fenugreek

General Information

Trigonella suavissima is a decumbent to ascending, annual plant with stems up to 50cm long[]..
Collected by the aborigines as wild vegetable plant, sporadically grown in W Australia as forage plant, no recent informations available[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Australia - All Mainland States

Habitat

Temperate upland areas[]. Floodplains, seepage areas and clay depressions in red loamy soils[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.30 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[]. Prefers a well-drained loamy soil in full sun[]. The plant grows strongly on rich, alluvial soils but is rarely found on sandy soils in the wild[].
The whole plant has a strongly sweet aroma[, ].
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[]. 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.

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked[]. Tender and delicious[].

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

All species in this genus have soil binding and soil improvement properties[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in situ.
The plant requires general flooding in order to induce massive germinations in the wild; local flooding will cause little or no germination. It grows particularly well after late summer-autumn or winter flooding[].