Found growing in dry sandy woods, openings, fields, and roadsides. Goat's Rue is fairly easy to grow, it is a deep rooted plant, requiring a moist, deep, light or medium very well-drained soil in a sunny position. Goat's Rue has a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen can be used by other plants growing nearby. Goat's Rue is 1 to 2 ft. tall, covered with silky silver hairs.
Root is long and tough, stems erect and branched.
Flower clusters are terminal racemes atop the plant. When cultivated there may be 20 to 30 flowers per raceme and up to 200 flowers per plant. The flowers have a faint but definite pleasant aroma and bees visit them often for nectar. Flowers blooms from May through August. The root is a source of the natural insecticide 'rotenone', especially effective against flying insects but relatively harmless to animals.