Plant · P-1155

White Tephrosia

Tephrosia candida

White Tephrosia is a fast-growing nitrogen-fixing shrub planted as a green manure and living hedge across the seasonally dry tropics, packing three to three and a half meters of dense growth into a single season. Farmers cut it two or three times a year for mulch, and the cut material also raises the soil's phosphorus and potassium as it breaks down. Livestock will not touch the leaves - buffaloes and goats leave it alone - and the roots and bark are traditionally pounded into a fish poison, so cuttings should stay well away from ponds and stock feed. It needs frost-free warmth and acidic, free-draining soil, and will not tolerate standing water.