Some Myrtle family members fix nitrogen Does Common Myrtle plant(Myrtus communis) fix nitrogen with its roots?

Question

Some Myrtle family members fix nitrogen Does Common Myrtle plant(Myrtus communis) fix nitrogen with its roots?

Answer 1

I don't know about Myrtle specifically, but it's not the roots of a legume that fix nitrogen.  Rather, it is bacteria (rhizobia) within nodules of the roots which "fix" the nitrogen.  Basically, you need to find out if Myrtle is a legume.

Answer 2

Double check your list and sources as none of that family or any members commonly confused with them are nitrogen fixers. You threw me quite a curve ball and I went threw all my reference material in an effort to figure out what I missed. I'd be interested to know who put out the information though in case something as important as that I failed to note. Any new species of nitrogen fixing plant would be very important in agriculture.

Answer 3

Wax myrtle (Myrica californica), a common N-fixing actinorhizal shrub found in sandy coastal areas in the western U.S.

Answer 4

I do not believe the Myrtle is a nitrogen fixer.  However I just packed all of my garden/farm/plant books so cannot double check.  

I was just doing research on Alder trees, as we believe our farm in Washington state has the largest/oldest Alder tree in WA.  

Alders are a nitrogen fixer.

Here's a link to wikipedia, nitrogen fixation which has a list of non-leguminous nitrogen fixing plants:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_fi...

Hope that helps.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years