Alfalfa

Medicago sativa

This plant is probably better known as an agricultural product for livestock or cover cropping, but in recent years its high nutritional value has brought some attention to its use for humans. Many people eat the sprouted seed of Alfalfa, but the green flowering plant is mostly dried and used as hay for livestock and can be found in tablet form for supplementation. Alfalfa has roots that reach hundreds of feet into the ground and has one of the highest mineral profiles of any land plant. Its root nodules contain bacteria with the ability to fix nitrogen, producing a high-protein feed regardless of available nitrogen in the soil. Many legumes have this ability. Because it is so dense in nutrition it is cultivated throughout the world, known as, "lucerne" in the UK, France, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.