Desmodium repandum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Desmodium repandum (Vahl) DC.

Protologue: Prodr. 2: 334 (1825).

Synonyms

• Hedysarum repandum Vahl (1791),
• Desmodium scalpe DC. (1825),
• Meibomia repanda (Vahl) O. Kuntze (1891).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: waliketupa sapi (Javanese), potong kujang (Sundanese), leng-elengan (Madura)
• Laos: kh'üa s'a:thwa'.

Distribution

Africa, Asia from Sri Lanka and India eastward to China and southward to Malesia, and some Pacific Islands; a common species throughout the Malesian region.

Uses

In Indonesia, D. repandum is used in combination with other diuretic substances. It has also been used as a green manure and ground cover.

Observations

• An erect suffrutescent herb, usually 30-150 cm tall, often woody at the base, stems simple or branched, variously hairy, rootstock woody.
• Leaves 3-foliolate, stipules narrowly ovate, (10-)15-20 mm long, terminal leaflet rhombic to obovate, (2-)5-8(-11) cm × (2-)3.5-6(-9) cm, lateral leaflets smaller than the terminal ones, chartaceous, upper surface variously hairy, lower surface densely hairy, lateral veins 4-5, extending to the margin, strongly oblique.
• Inflorescence terminal or frequently terminal and axillary, racemose or sometimes paniculate, 15-30(-60) cm long, lax-flowered.
• Flowers in clusters of 2-4, calyx 4-lobed, rather densely hairy, corolla orange to red, androecium diadelphous.
• Pod (2-)3-4(-5)-jointed, article length 2 times the width, densely hairy on lateral surfaces, glabrescent or sparsely pubescent on sutures.
• Seeds 2.5-3.5 mm × 5-5.6 mm.

In Malesia and Indo-China, D. repandum is found in light forests and thickets at 700-2000 m altitude, almost always under everwet climatic conditions, also along roadsides.

Selected sources

• Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• Dy Phon, P., Ohashi, H. & Vidal, J.E., 1994. Légumineuses - Desmodiées [Leguminosae (Fabaceae) Papilionoideae - Desmodieae]. In: Lescot, M., Vidal, J.E. & Vidal, Y. (Editors): Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêtnam [Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. Vol. 27. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. 154 pp.
• Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• 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.
• Matthew, K.M., 1981-1988. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. 4 volumes. The Rapinat Herbarium, St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli, India.
• Ohashi, H., 1973. The Asiatic species of Desmodium and its allied genera (Leguminosae). Ginkgoana No 1. Academia Scientific Books, Tokyo, Japan. 318 pp.
• Pedley, L. & Rudd, V.E., 1996. Fabaceae (Leguminosae) subfamily Faboideae (Papilionoideae) tribe Desmodieae. In: Dassanayake, M.D. & Clayton, W. D. (Editors): A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol. 10. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. pp. 149-198.
• Verdcourt, B., 1979. A manual of New Guinea legumes. Botany Bulletin No 11. Office of Forests, Division of Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. 645 pp.

Main genus page

• Desmodium (Medicinal plants)

Authors

N. Setyowati-Indarto & M. Brink