Astragalus sinicus Seeds | Chinese Milk Vetch
LATIN NAME: Astragalus sinicus
COMMON NAME: Chinese Milk Vetch, Zi Yun Ying
Plant Profile
Astragalus sinicus, better known as Chinese Milk Vetch, is a low, spreading, herb in the pea family, native to warm fields of China, while it is grown in rice fields and gardens of region as a valuable nitrogen-fixing green manure. Taken as a whole, it is a plant that repays a little attention many times over.
Science & Biotechnology
As part of the pea family, Astragalus sinicus contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. Species has also been studied in botany, since it is a member of legume family, and its classification and its relationships have been examined, while study of milkvetches and their many species has been of continuing interest. Interest from collectors and breeders has never lapsed, and good seed continues to circulate.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Chinese Milk Vetch for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. Ecologically, the Chinese milkvetch is a generous plant of spring fields. Its pink-purple, pea-like flowers feed honeybees and wild bees of early spring, and its leafy mounds give cover, while, as a legume, it helps to enrich soil of fields where it grows. For a grower, the Chinese milkvetch is an easy and generous plant, and for a gardener or a farmer it brings a leafy, nitrogen-rich mound and a flush of pink-purple, bee-filled bloom. Routine care after establishment is refreshingly light.
Chinese milk vetch is a celebrated green manure and honey plant of rice country, plowed under to feed the paddies, and its spring flowers feed bees and admiration alike.
Growing from Seed
Raising Chinese Milk Vetch from seed is straightforward. Sow the seeds evenly over the surface and cover lightly in a loose, well-drained seed compost, keep the sowing evenly moist, and give the pot or tray bright light. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.
Our Take
Among the Astragalus group, it is one of the more distinctive species in cultivation. The traditional uses covered above are what first made this species worth cultivating. Its wants are few — a sunny spot, soil that drains, and time to settle in.
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