In article .com, wrote:
[snip]
I do have sweet clover and alfalfa growing wild in my garden, and I
encourage them because I need all the nitrogen and all the plants with
flowers I can get, but according to
http://www.fao.org/Wairdocs/ILRI/x5546E/x5546e05.htm there's a
particular species of bacteria (Rhizobium meliloti) that's symbiotic
with those plants. I suspect that it won't be symbiotic with the other
plants I mentioned (Caesalpinia, Calliandra, Dalea). Can anyone tell
me for sure?

No. :-)

You don't say what species you will be using. It's quite
possible that some species in a genus will be exacting in
their requirements while others may be promiscuous.

With _Calliandra calothyrsus_, here's a quote from
http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/Publicat/Gutt-shel/
x5556e09.htm
[ TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/zj4wy ]
which also has lots of other good stuff about this species:
quoting
It is commonly stated that inoculation with Rhizobium is not
necessary (Zhou and Han 1984) but use of an appropriate strain
is advised when introducing the plant to new areas.
/quoting

I think you will find similar comments about most plants that use
root nodule bacteria for fixing N. A quick google for "Calliandra
rhizobium" turned up lots of info -- mostly for _C. calothyrsus_
of course, because of its use on the fringes of agriculture. You
might try a similar tactic for the other plants of interest to you.

Also, try googling with the phrase "root nodule bacteria" in lieu
of "rhizobium" as that will probably turn up other stuff of
interest to you -- such as the document describing this project

"Evaluation of the biodiversity of root nodule bacteria isolated
from Calliandra calothyrsus trees growing in Central America,
Cameroon, Kenya and New Caledonia."

which you'll find at
http://www.biocenter.helsinki.fi/gro...rom/diversity/
diversityI.htm [TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/gq3l8 ]

In particular, read the paragraph starting "C. calothyrsus is a
small tree legume ..."

Of course, discovering that your plants have specific RNB needs
is just the beginning -- you then have to find a source of the
appropriate bugs!

As a final complication, consider that many trees and other
perennial plants may have specific mycorrhizal associations.
(Google that one too. Mycorrhiza are often needed for
efficient uptake of nutrients such as phosphorus.

For an authoritative introduction to mycohizza, go to:

http://www.ffp.csiro.au/research/mycorrhiza/

(But it's very Oz-centric WRT individual species. :-)

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID