roadside plant ID? Illinois Bundleflower Desmanthus illinoensis Mimosa family (Mimosaceae)

We watch for new things along our country road walk...and many times I bring home seeds to plant around the edges here.

Neither of us recognize this one.

At first thought it was some sort of sensitive plant that grows here in different forms.

We missed it's flowering but the seed pods are distinctive.  They break apart into small bean like pods...very flat though and I have not opened one to see the 'bean'.

Thought it was 'rare' and then started seeing it everywhere, including out in the cow pastures along the road, uneaten.

Any ideas?

Could it be this? Those seed pods are super cool looking!

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/il_bundleflowerx.htm

Heather Olivia wrote:Could it be this? Those seed pods are super cool looking!

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/il_bundleflowerx.htm

That looks like the one... Thanks Heather!

and from the description it sounds like a good one to have growing here if I can get it started.  Interesting though that it is this far south? I wonder if it came in with some hay or pasture mix in this farmer's field and spread to along the roadside?

We have mimosa trees here everywhere and the 'briar' sensitive plant that is in that family also so I guess it should be no surprise that this one grows here too.

I'll have to watch the seed pods more closely now as so far they don't seem to have a seed and I wonder if they will 'spit' the seed once the pods open?

The article says livestock eat the plant so I wonder why these cows left them in the field...maybe the plants got too old and tough?

Those are really cool looking seed pods.

I would love it if it would grow here which is unlikely.

I would love to make flower arrangements out of those seed pods.

Anne, the seed pods alone are so interesting...the ones I brought home have fallen apart so I suppose to dry for an arrangement might have to treat differently? I can tell that I picked them too early though...no beans yet.

Here are a few quotes from the link Heather posted above...it sounds like a plant I want!
I am watching the seed pods now each day on our walk for signs of beans...as of this morning they still looked really flat and I wonder if our dry spell has affected seed production? The nicest ones are along a ditch where it stays wetter.

Cultivation: The preference is full to partial sun and moist to mesic conditions. Some drought is tolerated, but the leaflets on the lower stems of the plant may fall off, and the buds of compound flowers may abort and turn brown. Growth is best in fertile loam, but other kinds of soil are readily tolerated. This plant fixes nitrogen in the soil. Foliar disease is rarely a problem.

Habitats include black soil prairies, moist meadows near rivers, openings in woodlands, limestone glades, areas along railroads, and areas along levees. Because of the relatively high protein content of its foliage, Illinois Bundleflower has been planted in pastures to feed cattle, and it can be used in prairie restorations to improve worn-out soil. However, it recovers poorly from wildfires. Relatively open areas with a history of disturbance are preferred.

Faunal Associations: The flowerheads are occasionally visited by small bees and flies that seek nectar and pollen. The medium-sized seeds are consumed by various upland gamebirds, including the Ring-Necked Pheasant, Bobwhite Quail, and Greater Prairie Chicken. The foliage of this plant is highly palatable to mammalian herbivores because of its high protein content. It may have trouble surviving in areas where there is a surplus population of these animals and a shortage of predators.

Judith Browning wrote:

Faunal Associations: The flowerheads are occasionally visited by small bees and flies that seek nectar and pollen. The medium-sized seeds are consumed by various upland gamebirds, including the Ring-Necked Pheasant, Bobwhite Quail, and Greater Prairie Chicken. The foliage of this plant is highly palatable to mammalian herbivores because of its high protein content. It may have trouble surviving in areas where there is a surplus population of these animals and a shortage of predators.

Hey....I'm a mammalian herbivore sometimes!  PFAF has a profile for this plant, but only mentions eating the seeds, no mention of the foliage....PFAF profile for Desmanthus illinoensis

I have been wanting these for a while.
Aside for the sites already mentioned,  it come up most often as a source of mind altering chemicals.
Pfaf says they are edible,  and I have corresponded with a  researcher that is working on them as a field crop.

I am really excited about this plant....and now I've found a few of the seed pods just beginning to open so picked a few this morning on our walk.  Gradually over the day more pods have opened and seeds have popped out.

I'm still curious about how it showed up along this roadside.  We have walked this road for five years now and usually this time of year...will have to catch the farmer and ask....and check at the local feed store? Maybe they've been selling seed all along?