Neonotonia wightii habit 5
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, hairless to hairy, creeping to climbing legume. • Leaves have 3 elliptical to diamond-shaped leaflets, each 1.5-15 cm long and hairless to velvety. The stalk of central leaflet is longer than the two lateral ones. Flowerheads are long-stemmed racemes in the leaf axils, bearing many 5-11 mm long, white to mauve, pea-like flowers. Pods are 15-40 mm long and brown, with slight constrictions between seeds. Flowering is from mid autumn to winter. A native of Africa, it is sown for grazing and agroforestry. Suited to fertile, well-drained soils, but is sensitive to acidity, aluminium, manganese and heavy frosts.
A good weed competitor, it combines well with tall grasses. It produces good yields of high-quality non-bloating feed in the warmer months, which can be used as a standover feed to help fill an autumn/winter feed gap. Not as hardy as Atro on poor soils and low fertility. It is susceptible to continuous heavy grazing, needing sufficient spells between grazings. Remove stock when there is still plenty of vine and some leaf (at least 15 cm height) to maximise persistence and production. The more leaf left on the plant, the faster the regrowth.
Neonotonia wightii habit 5
Introduced, warm-season, perennial, hairless to hairy, creeping to climbing legume. • Leaves have 3 elliptical to diamond-shaped leaflets, each 1.5-15 cm long and hairless to velvety. The stalk of central leaflet is longer than the two lateral ones. Flowerheads are long-stemmed racemes in the leaf axils, bearing many 5-11 mm long, white to mauve, pea-like flowers. Pods are 15-40 mm long and brown, with slight constrictions between seeds. Flowering is from mid autumn to winter. A native of Africa, it is sown for grazing and agroforestry. Suited to fertile, well-drained soils, but is sensitive to acidity, aluminium, manganese and heavy frosts.
A good weed competitor, it combines well with tall grasses. It produces good yields of high-quality non-bloating feed in the warmer months, which can be used as a standover feed to help fill an autumn/winter feed gap. Not as hardy as Atro on poor soils and low fertility. It is susceptible to continuous heavy grazing, needing sufficient spells between grazings. Remove stock when there is still plenty of vine and some leaf (at least 15 cm height) to maximise persistence and production. The more leaf left on the plant, the faster the regrowth.