Desmanthus illinoensis seed
LATIN NAME: Desmanthus illinoensis
COMMON NAME: Illinois Bundleflower
Illinois bundleflower is the fine, generous, nitrogen-fixing plant of the prairies, and its round heads of the small, white, brush-like flowers and the twisted, brown, seed clusters have made it a familiar of the tall-grass prairie for a very long time. The open, branching plant carries the fine, twice-divided, mimosa-like leaves, and the round heads of the small, white, staminate flowers open through the summer, to be followed by the dense, twisted clusters of the small, flat, brown seeds. The plant is a fine, easy addition to the prairie planting and the pollinator garden, and it builds the soil as it grows. It is a plant of the sunny, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Illinois bundleflower has a steady and growing place in the plant science, and it has been studied for its nitrogen-fixing roots and its place in the prairie ecosystem. The way the plant builds the soil and the dense, twisted clusters of the seeds have been looked at closely, and it keeps showing up in the work on the prairie legumes and the soil-building plants. The mimosa-like leaves and the round, brush-like flower heads have also made it a fine garden plant, and it is a regular subject of the studies of the native legumes and the pollinator plants of the prairies.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Illinois bundleflower is grown for the fine, mimosa-like leaves and the round, brush-like flower heads. The white flowers pull in the bees and the butterflies through the summer, and the dense, twisted seed clusters are a fine food for the birds and the small mammals of the prairie. As a nitrogen-fixing legume the plant builds the soil, and it is a fine, easy addition to the prairie planting, the wildflower patch and the pollinator garden. It has been written about in the ecological and the horticultural papers for its soil-building ways and its value to the wildlife, and it is a fine, generous plant of the sunny, well-drained garden.
Illinois bundleflower is a fine, generous plant for the prairie-style planting, and it is one of the few garden plants that build the soil as they grow. The round, brush-like flower heads and the twisted seed clusters give the plant a fine, curious look through the season.
In the right spot the Illinois bundleflower is a fine, dependable, long-lived plant, and it asks for very little beyond the sun and the well-drained ground. The round, brush-like flower heads and the twisted seed clusters keep the plant interesting through the whole season.
To grow the Illinois bundleflower from seed, soak the small, flat seeds in warm water for a day or nick them, then sow them at a shallow depth in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep them in a bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings show themselves within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the well-drained soil, the round, brush-like flower heads and the twisted seed clusters will be there through the summer.
NAME: Illinois Bundle Flower
OTHER COMMON NAMES: Bundleflower / Prairie Bundleflower / Prairie Mimosa
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Desmanthus Illinoensis
COLOR: White
PLANT SEEDS: Outdoors after frost / Indoors weeks before last frost
BLOOM TIME: June – Aug
HARDINESS ZONE: 4 – 9
PLANT HEIGHT: 48 – 60″
PLANT SPACING: 18 – 24″
LIGHT REQUIREMENTS: Sun
SOIL & WATER PREFERENCES: Average – Dry
It can grow in rocky or almost any soil. It is a legume, so can help fix the nitrogen in your soil. The leathery seed pods form in “bundles” in late summer – fall, opening to reveal large seeds for the birds to enjoy.
It is actually considered to be a legume so it fixates nitrogen and improves the soil. It is a deep-rooted perennial that is a native throughout the plains and prairies of the United States. Illinois Bundleflower plants grow 24 – 48 inches tall, has attractive, fern-like foliage and the flowers are round, puffy and white. It late summer, brown bundles of seed pods, 20 – 30, curve around each other to form a cluster or a bundle. Illinois Bundleflower seed pods are easy to identify and add interest to a landscape.
Sow Illinois Bundleflower seeds directly outdoors. In prepared soil, sow flower seed and rake loose dirt over. Keep the flower seeds moist until germination. Illinois Bundleflower plants will drop their own flower seeds.