Bird's Foot Trigonella foenum-graecum

Trigonella foenum-graecum is an annual herb used for food and traditional medicine.  Its native habitat includes uncultivated ground, the edges of fields and dry grassland.  In some locations it has been and still is grown as fodder for livestock.  The Latin name, "foenum-graecum", translates to "Greek hay".   Harvesting needs to be conducted at the proper time.  Too early leads to low dry matter content, making the crop difficult to cure. Too late allows leads to the leaves dropping and a reduction in palatability.  

The flowers are considered papillonaceous, resembling a butterfly.  They can be white, lemon-yellow or a purplish-blue and are born in the leaf axils.  

The green parts of the plant have a flavor similar to maple syrup and is used as a flavoring in butterscotch, cheese, licorice, pickles run, syrup and vanilla. The 1/4" seeds, which have a strong spicy odor, are used as a condiment, adding flavor to maple syrup, cheese and curries. They require warm and dry weather to ripen.  Locations that maintain temperatures from 45-80 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal.  Not doing well in wet soils, annual rainfall of between 15-60" will benefit the plant.

The seeds and leaves also have medicinal benefits.

Its nitrogen fixing properties make this plant ideal planted as a rotation crop.  It is planted as a natural replenishment of the soil.  

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  Wet soils are not a suitable location to plant.  It can be affected by Macrophomina phaseolina (charcoal rot/fungus), Pseudomonas syringae (bacteria), and Spodoptera litura (Tobacco cutworm).

The seeds are poisonous, although not harmful.  They contain small quantities of saponins, which are poorly absorbed by humans.  They will pass through the human body without causing harm.