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Sphaerophysa salsula
Also called Alkali Swainsonpea, Bladder-vetch, Swainson Pea, Austrian Peaweed, Alkali Swainson Pea, Globe Pea, Salt Globe Pea
Red bladder-vetch is a long-lived perennial legume from Central Asia, up to 1.5 m tall, that spreads by seed and creeping roots. It is best known as a weed in alfalfa fields and disturbed, alkaline ground rather than as a garden plant.
Sphaerophysa salsula is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names alkali swainsonpea, Austrian peaweed, and red bladder-vetch. It is native to Asia but it is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It grows in cultivated land and disturbed habitat, easily tolerating alkaline substrates. It is commonly seen in areas where alfalfa is grown, because the seeds of the two species look similar and the weed seed is easily imported with the crop seed.
This is a long-lived perennial herb growing up to 1.5 m tall. It reproduces via seed as well as by sprouting vigorously from its creeping root system. The stems are coated in short white hairs. The leaves are made up of many oval leaflets each up to 2 cm long. The inflorescence is a raceme of several pea-like flowers each just over 1 cm wide.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sphaerophysa salsula by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
