Mundulea sericea (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Mundulea sericea (Willd.) A. Chev.

Family: Leguminosae - Papilionoideae

• Cytisus sericeus Willd.,
• Tephrosia suberosa DC.

• Malaysia: kattutuvaram, supti (Tamil).

Widespread in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. Probably introduced into South-East Asia. Occasionally cultivated.

A mulch and green manure crop, also fish poison and insecticide containing rotenone in leaves, bark and seeds. The bark repels crocodiles in East Africa.

• Robust, spreading shrub or small tree, 2-7 m tall. Bark corky, smooth to fissured; young branches velvety.
• Leaves pinnately compound; rachis velvety, up to 10 cm long including a petiole of 1-2 cm; leaflets in about 6 pairs, subopposite, rather leathery, ovate-oblong to lanceolate, up to 4 cm × 1.4 cm, apex rounded, with few, minute hairs or glabrous above.
• Inflorescence a velvety, axillary pseudoraceme, 5-13 cm long; flowers in pairs; pedicel 1-1.5 cm long.
• Calyx up to 6 mm long; standard about 18 mm × 15 mm, dorsally hairy, claw curved, inrolled.
• Pod borne almost horizontally, linear, 5-9 cm long, tapering at the base, tip pointed, velvety, yellowish-brown, often constricted between the 4-9 seeds.
• Seed reniform, about 4 mm × 3 mm × 2 mm, dark green.

'M. sericea occurs in open sites in lowland evergreen forest, bushland and deciduous woodland, up to 2000 m altitude. It is propagated by seed, but more easily by cuttings.

• Flora of Tropical East Africa (various editors), 1952-. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom & A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
• Kulkarni, D.K., Kumbhojkar, M.S. & Nipunage, D.S., 1990. Note on fish stupefying plants from western Maharashtra. Indian Forester 116: 331-333.
• Lock, J.M., 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. 619 pp.
• 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.

• M.S.M. Sosef & L.J.G. van der Maesen