Phyllodium elegans (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Phyllodium elegans (Lour.) Desv.

Protologue: Mém. Soc. Linn. Paris 4: 324 (1825).

Family: Leguminosae

• Hedysarum elegans Lour. (1790),
• Desmodium elegans (Lour.) Benth. (1861) non DC. (1825),
• Desmodium blandum van Meeuwen (1962).

• Cambodia: bang kuöy, praè kraôy
• Thailand: klet plaa mo (eastern), kaa saam peek klaang
• Vietnam: vảy tê tê, vảy [rồng.

Southern China, Indo-China, Thailand, Java and Madura.

A decoction of the roots is used in Thailand to relieve liver dysfunctions as well as in the treatment of some psychotic symptoms, including delirium, fibrillation and weight loss, believed to be caused by black magic. In Cambodia, the roots are employed in folk medicine to cure oedema in newborns. In Vietnam, an infusion of the flowers is used to cure respiratory ailments; leafy branches are used for lining chicken nests.

• A shrub up to 2 m tall, branches slightly angular, pubescent.
• Leaves 3-foliolate, petiole about 10 mm long, stipules triangular, 3-5 mm × 2-3.5 mm, rachis 5-10 mm long, terminal leaflet ovate, elliptical to obovate, 4-16 cm × 3-7 cm, obtuse or rounded at the base, obtuse or emarginate at apex, lateral leaflets asymmetrical, 2-7 cm × 2-6 cm, base rounded or subcordate.
• Raceme 10-50 cm long, composed of 5-9-flowered fascicles, lateral leaflets of bracts 1-2 cm × 0.8-2 cm.
• Corolla white, standard obovate, 6-7 mm × 3-4.5 mm, pistil 8-10 mm long.
• Pods narrowly oblong, (4-)10-12(-15) mm × 3-4 mm, densely tomentose, not reticulate-veined, (1-)2-3(-4)-articled, articles subquadrangular, 3-4 mm long.
• Seed transversely elliptical, 1.8-2 mm × 2.2-2.5 mm.

P. elegans is found on a wide range of soils from calcium-rich clay, red soils to sand, in habitats ranging from rather open old forest, secondary growth, dry grassy fields to cattle ground, and rice fallow, up to 600(-1600) m altitude.

• [47] Allen, O.N. & Allen, E.K., 1981. The Leguminosae. A source book of characteristics, uses and nodulation. MacMillan Publishers, London, United Kingdom. 812 pp.
• [74] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1964—1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1964) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• [201] Chuakul, W., Saralamp, P., Paonil, W., Temsiririrkkul, R. & Clayton, T. (Editors), 1997. Medicinal plants in Thailand. Vol. II. Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. 248 pp.
• [547] Knaap-van Meeuwen, M.S., 1962. Preliminary revisions of some genera of Malaysian Papilionaceae V. A census of the genus Desmodium. Reinwardtia 6(3): 239—276.
• [749] Ohashi, H., 1973. The Asiatic species of Desmodium and its allied genera (Leguminosae). Ginkgoana No 1. Academia Scientific Books, Tokyo, Japan. 318 pp.

• Phyllodium

• Wongsatit Chuakul, Noppamas Soonthornchareonnon, Orawan Ruangsomboon.