Know someone who needs an internship? Mercer Botanic Gardens is looking for eight college students to serve as summer interns!

The roots of this Texas-native legume have nitrogen-fixing nodules that make it an important source of nitrogen for the soil. Bacteria, known as Rhizobium, grow on the plant’s roots and allow it to absorb nitrogen from the air. When the plant dies and the tissue decomposes, gardeners can use this plant as a natural fertilizer.

Did you know that Mercer Botanic Gardens offers more than stunning garden views? Behind the scenes, Mercer has a thriving research center boasting a growing collection of pressed and dried plant samples, known to botanists as a herbarium. Mercer’s herbarium collection started in 1986 and is now located at the Mercer Botanical Center on Titlelist Drive just across Cypress Creek. As of this year, Mercer’s herbarium includes more than 50,000 plant specimens on long-term loan from the Spring Branch ISD Science Center (SBSC).