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perennial soybean

Neonotonia wightii ยท Fabaceae

perennial soybean (Neonotonia wightii)
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr ยท CC BY ยท via Wikimedia Commons

perennial soybean (Neonotonia wightii) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Fabaceae family. It is introduced to North America rather than native. USDA records it as hardy in zone 12 and warmer, down to about 50ยฐF.

At a glance

Typeforb-herb USDA
Lifecycleperennial USDA
Native statusintroduced USDA
Mature height2.5 ft USDA
Lightpart-shade USDA
Water needmedium USDA
Growth ratemoderate USDA
Soil pH5.5โ€“7.8 USDA
Flower colorWhite USDA
Hardiness zones12 and warmer USDA
Guild layernutrient Derived
Nursery availabilityRoutinely Available USDA

USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database ยท Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.

Growing conditions

It grows in partial shade. USDA rates it as having moderate water needs. It is recorded on soils from pH 5.5 to 7.8 โ€” a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 12; USDA publishes no warm-end limit, so gardeners in warmer zones should check local heat tolerance separately.

Size and growth

At maturity it reaches about 2.5 ft, making it a low to knee-height plant. It grows at a moderate rate, which matters when you are timing a planting around the layers above it.

Role in a guild

Nutrient layer. In a layered planting this is it contributes to soil fertility rather than to structure. We derive the layer from the plant's growth habit and mature height using a fixed rule, so the same inputs always produce the same layer.

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Tags

evergreendrought-toleranthedgeclay-tolerantsandy-soilintroducednitrogen-fixer

Where this data comes from

Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol NEWI2, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.

Read our full data sources and methodology.

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