Quail-Friendly Plants of the Midwest

Milkpea

• Galactia volubilis

Forb

Leaves and stems are hairy. Vining growth often causes milk pea to climb other plants.

Scott Sudkamp, Missouri Department of Conservation

Milkpea seedpods are hairy, 2 to 2-1/2 inches long.

©Ted Bodner, USDA-NRCS Plants Database

Leaflets are three-lobed, and flowers are pink to lavender.

©Tom Barnes, University of Kentucky

Where available, seeds are readily consumed by bobwhites and other birds and small mammals.

Tracey Slotta, USDA-NRCS Plants Database

Description

This herbaceous legume demonstrates a hairy surface on the top of the trilobed leaf; the stems are also hairy. Milkpea can be found throughout most of the southern Midwest on rocky glades and open woods. Seedpods are about 2-1/2 inches long.

Bloom period

July to September

Use by bobwhites

Milkpea seeds are readily eaten by bobwhites. They may serve as a component of brood cover as well.