Family
Fabaceae
Common Name
Goat's-rue
Regulation
Primary Noxious, Class 2 in the Canadian Weed Seeds Order, 2016 under the Seeds Act.
Distribution
Canadian: Occurs in ON, QC (Darbyshire 2003Footnote 1, Brouillet et al. 2016Footnote 2).
Worldwide: Native to northern Africa, Europe, Türkiye and Pakistan (USDA-ARS 2016Footnote 3). Introduced in Canada, the United States, Argentina, Chile and New Zealand (CABI 2016Footnote 4).
Duration of life cycle
Perennial
Seed or fruit type
Seed
Identification features
Size
- Seed length: 3.1 - 5.0 mm
- Seed width: 1.5 - 2.2 mm
- Seed thickness: 1.0 - 1.5 mm
Shape
- Seed long oval with a side notch, compressed
Surface texture
- Seed dull, slightly roughened
Colour
- Most seeds are a dull greenish-yellow, some are reddish-brown
Other structures
- Hilum is round and surrounded by a ring of raised tissue
- Furrow evident between radicle and cotyledons
Habitat and Crop Association
Old fields, pastures, rangelands, grasslands, fencelines, shores, riverbanks, roadsides and disturbed areas (Darbyshire 2003Footnote 1, CABI 2016Footnote 4). Reported as a weed in alfalfa (Whitson et al. 2000Footnote 5).
General Information
Goat's-rue has a history of use as a bee plant, forage and medicinal plant (USDA-ARS 2016Footnote 3). It was initially introduced into Utah in the 1890s as a forage plant, but was found to contain an alkaloid toxic to livestock (Tingey 1971Footnote 6).
Since its introduction, this species has infested moist, waterlogged and acidic soils in pastures and old fields in Utah. It is proving difficult to eradicate in those habitats (Lasseigne 2003Footnote 7).
Similar species
Oriental goat's rue (Galega orientalis)
- Oriental goat's-rue seed are a similar size, long oval shape and round hilum as goat's-rue.
- Oriental goat's-rue seeds have a pointed base, glossy surface and a shallow or no radicle furrow. Goat's-rue seeds are dull with a round base and pronounced radicle furrow.
Photos
Similar species
