Fenugreek is a member of the same family as beans and clover. The seeds are used as a substitute for maple flavoring in baked goods and to make a laxative tea. Zones 6 – 10, likes full sun and rich soil.

As a leguminous plant, fenugreek needs little if any nitrogen fertilizer and the plant can enrich soils with nitrogen Annual, height 1- 2 feet, clover=like stems and leaves. One of the most oldest cultivated medicinal plants, fenugreek is widely grown today in the United States as a food, condiment, medicinal, dye and forage plant. Flowers in summer white flowers with distinctive pink or blue markings that resemble garden pea blossoms. Snails and slugs can be a problem on new growth; the most effective remedy is to handpick the pests from the plants. Harvesting pods when ripe but before they fall, like garden beans, leave seeds in the sun to dry, then store in an airtight container. For culinary purposes, such as curries, the dried seeds can be ground and then stored. Young seedlings and other portions of the fresh plant can be eaten as vegetables. Fenugreek has a strong, pleasant, peculiar order reminiscent of maple, which makes it useful in many baked goods, chutneys, preserves and confections. Steep the seeds in boiling water and strain for a substitute for maple syrup. Fenugreek can be used as a livestock feed. As a medicinal plant, fenugreek has traditionally be employed against bronchitis, fevers, sore throats, wounds, swollen glands, skin irritants, diabetes and ulcers. Fenugreek seeds may also lower blood glucose levels. As a cover crop, fenugreek breaks up heavy soils and contributes nitrogen and organic matter. Marsh mallow and fenugreek is a time honored herbal combination used to supports the respiratory system. The plant is quite nutritious. Being high in proteins, ascorbic acid, niacin and potassium. Other common names for fenugreek are: Bird’s foot, Greek hayseed, fenugreek is used in Mediterranean countries to scent inferior hay. Fenugreek is generally recognized as safe for human consumption as a spice or natural seasoning and as a plant extract in herbal medicines. The seeds are brownish, oblong, and rhomboidal with deep furrow dividing them into two unequal lobes. They are contained 10 – 20 together in a long, narrow, sickle like pods.