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The plant grows 1 to 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 m) tall. The hairless leaves are compound, divided into a number of leaflets. [3] [8] The inflorescence is a raceme of white, pink, or purple flowers. The fruit is a legume pod containing kidney-shaped seeds. [3] Honeybees pollinate the flowers. [9]
In 2012 the USDA updated their plant hardiness map based on 1976–2005 weather data, using a longer period of data to smooth out year-to-year weather fluctuations. [7] Two new zones (12 and 13) were added to better define and improve information sharing on tropical and semitropical plants, they also appear on the maps of Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
The USDA also refers to it as the Miami Station. [1] The introduction of economically useful plants into the US is a three-step process: (1) explorers find the plants in foreign countries; (2) the plants are sent back to a USDA introduction garden where they are evaluated; (3) successful plants are distributed to farmers and nurserymen.
Gold Medal Plant Award Program sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society this program recognizes "trees, shrubs, and woody vines of outstanding merit" and are recommended for USDA Zones 5-7 and is a good place to look when considering adding shrubs and trees to the home garden.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production, works to assure food safety, protects natural resources, fosters rural communities and works to end hunger in the United States and internationally.
Since the establishment of the Office of Seed and Plant Introduction there has been an office within the USDA with this responsibility, though its name changes periodically. [2] Today, the branch of the USDA responsible for collecting and introducing new plant species is called the National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. [2] [7]
The Development of American Agriculture: A Historical Analysis (1998) Conkin, Paul. A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929 (2008) Gardner, Bruce L. (2002). American Agriculture in the Twentieth Century: How It Flourished and What It Cost. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00748-4. Hurt, R. Douglas.
The term "sustainable agriculture" was defined in 1977 by the USDA as an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term: [13] satisfy human food and fiber needs; enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agriculture economy depends