Habitat: Dry, open forests, woodlands, clearings, old fields, and roadsides. Common in the coastal Plain and piedmont; infrequent in the mountains.
Wildlife Value: Food source for bobwhite, turkey, grouse, and deer. This is a larval host plant for many species of butterfly, including: Silver-Spotted Skipper, Hoary Edge, Northern Cloudywing, Southern Cloudywing , Gray Hairstreak and Eastern Tailed-Blue. In the winter, its seeds serve as a food source for songbirds, quail, and small mammals
Notes: Can be used as a living mulch or green manure as they are able to improve soil fertility via nitrogen fixation. They can also be used as livestock fodder. The hairy seedpods readily cling to fur and clothing so both animals and humans unwittingly spread their seeds. They germinate readily and can become weedy.