Indigofera linnaei (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
- Protologue: Bot. Notis. 3: 549 (1958).
Synonyms
Hedysarum prostratum Burm.f. (1768), Indigofera enneaphylla L. (1771), Indigofera prostrata (L.) Domin (1926).
Vernacular names
- Indonesia: dedekan, truspala (Javanese), met gamet (Madurese)
- Vietnam: chàm linne.
Distribution
From Pakistan and India eastward to Indo-China, Thailand, throughout the drier parts of Malesia (eastern Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi and New Guinea) to Australia.
Uses
In Java the plant is used against aphthae and as a diuretic. In India the plant juice is used as an antiscorbutic, diuretic and alterative. Boiled with oil, the aboveground parts are applied to burns. A decoction is given to treat epilepsy and insanity. I. linnaei is recommended as a green manure. In pastures it is a fodder for cattle, but it is poisonous to horses.
Observations
An annual or perennial herb or shrublet up to 90 cm tall; leaflets 3-11, alternate, ovate to narrowly ovate, the terminal one 0.5-1.5 cm × 0.3-0.5 cm, the lateral ones 0.3-1.3 cm × 0.2-0.4 cm, base cuneate, apex obtuse to truncate; inflorescence 0.5-2.5 cm long; calyx up to 4 mm long, standard broadly ovate to orbicular, 3-5 mm long, bright red with a pale base, wings and keel slightly shorter, orange-red; fruit spreading, globose, slightly beaked, 3-8 mm × 1.5-2 mm, hairy, (1-)2-3-seeded, endocarp not blotched; seeds rounded, 1 mm × 1 mm. I. linnaei is found in grassland, along roadsides and on dykes from sea-level up to 400 m altitude.
Selected sources
35, 62, 121, 181, 198, 250, 334, 965.
Main genus page
Authors
Sudibyo Supardi & Hurip Pratomo
