Derris elliptica (Wall.) Benth.

Scandent shrub or liane 5–12 m long, velvety pubescent; shoot apex often leafless for several metres. Leaves pinnate, 15–30 cm long, mostly with 11–15 leaflets; leaflets narrowly oblong-obovate, 4–25 cm long, rounded at base, entire margin, rounded to shortly acuminate at apex, rusty-velvety, somewhat glabrescent, glaucous beneath; petiole 3–7 mm long. Flowers usually in stalked clusters of 3, combined into pseudoracemes 15–25 cm long, rusty pubescent. Calyx 6–8 mm long, shallowly toothed. Petals pink; standard 13–17 mm diam., with 2 auricles at base, softly ferruginous-hairy outside; wings and keel with interlocking longitudinal folds. Fruit elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 3.5–7 cm long, flat, leathery, narrowly winged. Seeds 1–3, reniform, flat.

It is a tropical plant. It prefers humid well drained soil. It needs a protected sunny position. It is drought and frost tender. In Papua New Guinea it grows from sea level to 70 m altitude.

The crushed roots may be used as a potent fish poison. The active chemical is rotenone which stupifies the fish but has a very low toxicity to man, allowing the fish to be eaten with impunity. It has also been used in arrow poisons and in shampoos to eliminate lice. Rotenone is also an effective insecticide, and the species was cultivated for its roots to produce an insecticide as early as 1877 in Singapore. It is a strongly growing plant with many nitrogenous root nodules, making it useful as a green manure.

Plants can be grown from seed. The seed needs to be treated to break the hard seed coat before planting.