A fast-growing tropical tree producing showy red, pink, or white flowers and edible immature pods. Highly valued in permaculture for nitrogen fixation, rapid biomass production, and nutritious food.

Alfalfa is a nitrogen-fixing legume prized as livestock forage and for improving soil health in agricultural settings. It produces small purple, pink, or yellow flowers and deep taproots that help break up compacted soil.

Alsike clover is a short-lived perennial legume with small pink to white flower heads, commonly used as a cover crop and forage plant. It establishes quickly and improves soil nitrogen naturally.

A native North American climbing vine with small, fragrant purple flowers and edible underground tubers similar to potatoes. Valuable for permaculture systems as a nitrogen-fixing legume that produces nutritious food while improving soil.

A native North American vine that produces both aerial flowers and underground (cleistogamous) flowers and pods. Useful as a groundcover or low climbing vine in woodland gardens.

American Wisteria is a vigorous deciduous vine with fragrant purple or blue flower clusters that bloom later in summer than Asian species. It is less aggressive than its Asian counterparts and well-suited for arbors, trellises, and fences in temperate gardens.

Astragalus membranaceus is a nitrogen-fixing perennial herb with delicate pinnate leaves and small pale yellow flowers, widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for immune support. It thrives in dry conditions and poor soils, making it valuable for permaculture systems.

A low-growing legume with fine, clover-like foliage and bright yellow flowers tinged with red or orange. Excellent nitrogen-fixing groundcover or meadow plant that attracts pollinators.

A fast-growing deciduous tree with delicate, fragrant white flower clusters appearing in late spring. Highly adaptable and drought-tolerant once established, though it can spread aggressively through root suckers.

Black Medick is a low-growing annual legume with small yellow flower clusters and distinctive black seed pods. It is commonly used as a cover crop and nitrogen-fixing green manure, and can serve as a nutritious forage plant.

Blackwood is a fast-growing Australian acacia that develops a broad, spreading crown and dark timber. It produces fragrant, pale yellow flower spikes in spring and thrives in full sun with minimal water once established.

A perennial climbing vine with broad leaflets and pink or magenta sweet pea-like flowers that bloom throughout summer. It climbs via tendrils and is excellent for trellises, arbors, and fences.

Bush Vetch is a spreading perennial legume with delicate purple or reddish-purple flowers and compound leaflets. It spreads via runners and is commonly found in grasslands and field margins across temperate regions.

A tropical shrub prized for its feathery, bright pink to red powder-puff flower heads and fine, bipinnate foliage. Nitrogen-fixing and fast-growing, making it excellent for permaculture systems, livestock fodder, and erosion control.

A long-lived, drought-tolerant Mediterranean tree valued for its sweet, edible pods that can be used as a chocolate substitute or animal feed. Slow-growing and low-maintenance once established, carob thrives in arid climates with minimal water or fertilizer.

A deciduous shrub native to eastern Asia with small trifoliate leaves and delicate purple-pink flowers in late summer to fall. Extremely drought-tolerant once established, making it valuable for dry landscapes and erosion control.

Chinese wisteria is a vigorous climbing vine prized for its cascading clusters of fragrant, purple-blue flowers that bloom in spring. Once established, it grows rapidly and can cover pergolas, arbors, and walls with lush foliage.

A warm-season legume grown for its edible pods and seeds. Beans are fast-growing and productive, thriving in full sun with consistent moisture and moderate warmth.

A low-growing perennial with dense clusters of colorful flowers in shades of red, yellow, pink, or bicolor. Extremely hardy and drought-tolerant, ideal for rock gardens and poor soils.

Common vetch is a fast-growing climbing annual vine with delicate purple, pink, or blue flowers and fine pinnate foliage. It is commonly used as a cover crop and nitrogen-fixing legume in agricultural systems.

Cowpea is a warm-season legume that produces edible pods and seeds, thriving in heat and drought conditions. It enriches soil through nitrogen fixation and is widely grown in tropical and subtropical regions as both a food crop and cover crop.

A winter annual legume with showy crimson-scarlet flower spikes that bloom in spring and early summer. Commonly used as a cover crop and nitrogen-fixing green manure, though also attractive in gardens and meadows.

A low, spreading native shrub with small pinnate leaves and delicate yellow flowers. Extremely drought-tolerant once established and requires minimal maintenance.

Desmodium intortum, commonly called silverleaf desmodium, is a tropical legume used as a cover crop and forage plant that fixes nitrogen and improves soil fertility. It establishes quickly, tolerates poor soils, and provides excellent biomass while supporting pollinators.