Feature Article - for release the week of November 12, 2006

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

Danglepod: A Wild, Wet Weed

Glades County Extension Director Shelly Humphries recently asked me to help identify a weed that an area resident was having trouble with.  This tall roadside weed was reported to be spreading rapidly into new areas, so the concern was to control its spread.

The tall ferny plant in question is known as Danglepod, and it can be found in moist areas across the eastern part of the US.  At this time of year it has died back, revealing dead red-brown sticks with lots of dangling seed pods.  Today’s column will wake you up to the pitfalls and problems that might be found with this roadside plant.

Many names – many climates

Soon after Ms. Humphries brought this plant to my attention, I took a peek at my plant identification resources and discovered several different common names for this plant.  The name Danglepod describes the curving, hanging seed pods that cover this plant.  Another variation on this common name is Bigpod sesbania. 

Colorado River Hemp and Hemp Sesbania names describe the tall upright growth of this weed; it may also relate to Native American Indian lore where the outer bark of these stems was reportedly used as a fiber for making nets.  Other common names I’ve uncovered for this plant are Tall Indigo, Coffee bean and PeaTree.

Botanists have added to the confusion; the preferred scientific name, Sesbania herbacea, may be given as S. exaltata or S. macrocarpa.   And, older references even place it in the genus Cassia.

All these sources do agree that this plant grows in a wide area.  It can be found growing throughout Florida, throughout the Southeast US, with several reports from both Northeastern states and even in California.

A year from seed to seed

In the fall, all that remains of Danglepod are the tall red-brown stems topped with long curvy seedpods.  As winter wind and rain move through our area, the pods split open and the 30 to 40 seed in each fruit will fall to the ground.  The tall weedy stems will fall over to decompose or may remain as sentinels of the summer until a mower knocks them down to the ground.

Danglepod is a summer annual.  This means that it will begin growth in the spring and get taller through the summer.  Plants can reach heights of three to six feet tall and become quite woody at the base.  The fern-like foliage is made of compound leaves of small rounded leaflets than can be up to three feet long.  

In mid-summer, the plant produces pea-shaped flowers that are usually yellow, but are often streaked with purple colors.  Clusters at the end of the stems may have two to six flowers.  By fall, long 5-10 inches long pods form and hang on the plant as the seasons change.  What remains does not have a persistent root mass, so don’t expect it to send up many shoots from the same mother plant in the following year.

Opportunities and Problems

On the plus side, certain soil bacteria can form nodules on the roots of Danglepod plants, where nitrogen from the air can be transformed into fertilizer.  This ability has caused some plant scientists to consider growing it as a soil improving plant.

However, because it is a prolific seed producer, it is considered to be invasive, and should not be used for soil enhancing properties.  This native plant is even prohibited in Arkansas because it can compete with cotton and other crops for scarce nutrients and soil moisture.  

And livestock producers should also note that Danglepod has a poisonous substance in it - saponin.  This makes the plant toxic to livestock (and humans).  Seed are the most toxic part and leaves may be grazed late in the growing season when other forage is scarce.  Cattle may develop a craving for these seed.  Poisoning symptoms are more common when livestock is  moved into new pastures with this plant.

Managing Weedy Danglepod Patches

It’s the falling seed that keep this plant going, so the key to keeping it from spreading is to prevent it from producing seed in the first place.  A couple of ideas come to mind if these roadside weeds get out of control: mow it down or spray it with herbicides.

The best time to mow or spray this plant will be in the late spring to early summer.  After it begins to form seedpods, using weed killers will be too late.  It makes a difference if herbicides are to be applied to pastures, roadsides or in your Florida Yard, so if specific recommendations on herbicides, please contact our office.

I’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on these “Coffee” plants, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons.  

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Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean Last update: 11/07/2006 .  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert 

references

Anonymous. Poisonous Plants of the Southern United States. Morgantown: West Virginai University, 2006 http://www.caf.wvu.edu/~forage/library/poisonous/page12.htm#sesbania 

Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.   Danglepod. Gainesville: University of Florida, 2005. http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/sesexa.html 

Morris, Rich  Sesbania herbacea -  Colorado River Hemp.   Wales, UK: Plants For A Future website, June 2004 http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Sesbania+herbacea 

Wang, E.T.  and Martínez-Romero, E.   Sesbania herbacea - Rhizobium huautlense Nodulation in Flooded Soils and Comparative Characterization of S. herbacea - Nodulating Rhizobia in Different Environments.   In  Microbial Ecology , Volume 40, Number 1 / January, 2000.  http://www.springerlink.com/content/bwbf3yujvjd6pp1c/

Wunderlin,  Dr. Richard. Sesbania herbacea. Tampa: University of South Florida, Institute of Systemic Botany, 11/7/06. http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=2920