Millettia sericea (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Millettia sericea (Vent.) Wight & Arn.

Protologue: Prodr. fl. Ind. orient. 1: 263 (1834).

Family: Leguminosae

Millettia sericea (Vent.) Wight & Arn. - 1, young shoot; 2, leaf; 3, inflorescence; 4, detail of inflorescence; 5, infructescence

• Indonesia: tuwa laleur (Sundanese), akar tuba, bori akar
• Thailand: cha-nai-kho, paa-tuu, no-roh (peninsular)
• Vietnam: thàn mát lông tơ.

Northern Vietnam, Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Java.

In Peninsular Malaysia, pounded leaves are placed in a hollow tooth to relieve toothache. The leaves are used for poulticing sore eyes. A decoction of the leaves is drunk for fever, urinary disorders and after chilbirth. In Indonesia, bark powder or pounded dry leaves in small dosage are used as a vermifuge for children. The juice of the roots is employed in animal medicine to cleanse neglected wounds in horses and cattle. In the Moluccas, pounded roots are employed as a fish poison. A piece of root is also used to retard fermentation of palm wine. Young leaves and shoot tips can be eaten in salads.

• A large liana up to 30 m long.
• Leaflets 5-9, oblong or oblong-obovate, 7-25 cm × 3.5-11 cm, base rounded to cordate, apex shortly acuminate or rounded, coriaceous.
• Inflorescence an axillary or terminal pseudopanicle, 15-50 cm long, flowers in groups of 7-8.
• Calyx campanulate, 3-4.5 mm long, truncate, corolla violet, standard orbicular with a green basal blotch, auricles absent, callosities absent, sericeous outside, wings elliptical, adherent to the keel petals, stamens diadelphous, vexillary one free at base, joined to the tube in the middle.
• Pod very thick with narrowed base and top, 5-7.5 cm × 1.5-3.5 cm, densely brown hairy, glabrescent, 1-2-seeded.
• Seed transverse-ellipsoid, thick, 2.5-3.5 cm × 1-2.5 cm × 0.4-1.3 cm.

Recently, 3-4-seeded collections from Peninsular Malaysia with pods up to 14 cm × 5 cm have been distinguished as a separate M. chrysamaryssa Adema, characterized by flat pods and seeds.

M. sericea is found scattered on river banks and in forest fringes from sea-level up to 1200 m altitude.

• [11] Adema, F., 1999. Notes on Malesian Fabaceae (Leguminosae-Papilionodeae) 4. Millettia chrysamaryssa, a new species from Peninsular Malaysia. Novon 9(3): 289—291.
• [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.
• [331] Gagnepain, F. (Editor), 1907—1950. Flore générale de l'Indo-Chine [General flora of Indo-China]. 7 volumes + suppl. Masson & Cie, Paris, France.
• [407] 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.
• [747] Ochse, J.J. & Bakhuizen van den Brink, R.C., 1980. Vegetables of the Dutch East Indies. 3rd English edition (translation of "Indische groenten"", 1931). Asher & Co., Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 1016 pp.
• [788] Pételot, A., 1952—1954. Les plantes médicinales du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [The medicinal plants of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. 4 volumes. Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques et Techniques, Saigon, Vietnam.

• Millettia

• J.L.C.H. van Valkenburg