Tephrosia candida Seeds | White Tephrosia
LATIN NAME: Tephrosia candida
COMMON NAME: White Tephrosia
Plant Profile
Tephrosia candida, better known as White Tephrosia, is a bushy, short-lived perennial in the pea family. It steadily establishes a rounded crown, eventually 5-10 metres tall. Give it full sun and deep, fertile ground. While it flowers, it feeds a quiet procession of bees and hoverflies. These traits together are what have kept the plant in gardens for so long.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Tephrosia candida, a representative of the pea family with clear practical value. White tephrosia has a real and distinguished place in the research. Gardeners benefit directly from its long cultivation: what the plant will do in a garden is well understood.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, White Tephrosia earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Ecologically, white tephrosia is a generous shrub of warm garden. Its dense, upright clusters of small, white, pea-like flowers feed bees and many insects, and its fine, broad, leafy growth gives a fine, dense cover to ground and the field. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Tephrosias are rotenone-bearing legumes used traditionally as fish poisons and insecticides; they are green manures and curiosities, never food.
Growing from Seed
Starting White Tephrosia from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow the seed evenly over the surface and cover lightly, using a loose, well-drained seed compost, and keep it just moist in full sun until the seedlings are well up. Pot the young plants on as they grow, harden them off gradually, and plant them into their final positions when sturdy.
Our Take
The medicinal tradition behind this species, outlined above, is a large part of its interest. It grows as a bushy, short-lived perennial, so its place in the garden is easy to plan. Young plants want steady water; older plants take conditions as they come.
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