Desmodium cordifolium (Harms) Schindl.

Species

Angiosperms > Fabales > Fabaceae > Desmodium

Characteristics

Creeping to ascending perennial herb with tuberous roots and slender reddish brown shoots to ± 1 m. long; stems angular to cylindric and appressed to spreading hirsute with stout stiff tapering hairs.. Leaves 1-foliolate; stipules obliquely lanceolate-attenuate, 4–11 mm. long, 0.5–2 mm. wide, strongly striate, sparsely puberulent to glabrescent, long-ciliate, persistent; petioles minutely uncinulate-puberulent throughout and abundantly appressed hirsute with pubescence similar to that of stem, 0.75–3.5 cm. long; lamina ovate or ovate-oblong to almost orbicular, acute to obtuse to completely rounded at apex, at least slightly cordate at base, 1–6 cm. long, 1–5 cm. wide, minutely uncinulate-puberulent on both surfaces, abundantly appressed hirsute on midrib and chief lateral veins and moderately so on surface beneath.. Inflorescences axillary and terminal, racemose-paniculate, lax and diffuse; rhachis minutely and moderately uncinulate-puberulent, rather densely appressed hirsute (with hairs similar to those of stem); primary bracts, each subtending a fascicle of 3 pedicels, lanceolate-attenuate, similar to stipules in texture and pubescence, 2.8–6 mm. long, 0.8–1.3 mm. wide; secondary bracts similar, lanceolate, 1–1.7 mm. long, 0.5–1.5 mm. wide; all rather long persistent; pedicels minutely uncinulate-puberulent and moderately stiff hirsute, ± 2–5 mm. long in flower, to 8 mm. long in fruit.. Flowers blue to bright mauve or mauve and white.. Calyx pale green to reddish (above), the teeth of lobes sometimes with colourless margins, minutely uncinulate-puberulent and abundantly hirsute with stout hairs throughout; teeth of lower lobe 2.5–3.5 mm. long, upper bifid lobe equalling them or slightly shorter.. Standard obovate or almost oblong (broader than high), refuse, scarcely if at all clawed, 4–4.5 mm. long, 4–6 mm. wide; wings remotely oblong, obtuse at apex, slightly auricled, shortly clawed, 3.5– 4.5 mm. long, 1.6–2 mm. wide; keel-petals almost scythe-shaped, ± long-clawed, 4.5–5 mm. long, 1.5–1.8 mm. wide.. Fruit sessile to shortly stipitate (stipe to 1.5 mm. long), 3–6-articled, upper suture slightly curved, somewhat indented at the isthmi, lower suture curved, deeply indented at the isthmi; articles minutely uncinulate-puberulent and sparsely hirsute on surfaces and sutures, or becoming glabrescent, 1.5–2 mm. long and wide.. Seed ± oblong, reddish brown, 2 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide.
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Leaves 1-foliolate; leaflet 0.6–6 × 0.6–5.2 cm, ovate-oblong or rounded-oblong to almost round, subacute, broadly rounded or even emarginate at the apex, shallowly to distinctly cordate at the base, with extremely short hairs on upper surface but much longer ones beneath; petiole 2–37 mm long; petiolule 1–2.5 mm long; stipules 7–12 × 1–2 mm, obliquely lanceolate, attenuate, strongly veined, pilose.
Inflorescences very lax, with fascicles of flowers 2–5 cm apart, 2–18 cm long, finely puberulous and with long spreading ferruginous hairs; peduncle 1–4 cm long, similarly hairy; pedicels 5–13 mm long, puberulous and with a few long hairs; primary bracts each subtending 2–3 pedicels, 2.8–5 × 0.8–1.3 mm, nervose and sparsely pilose; secondary bracts lanceolate, very small, all persistent.
Fruit 8–14 mm long, of (3)5–6 articles, each article 2–2.3 mm long and wide, round, uncinulate-pubescent or glabrescent, joined by narrow necks 0.5 mm wide.
Stems prostrate or ± ascending, 0.4–1 m long, somewhat angular, covered with spreading bristly hairs.
Calyx pubescent with bristly hairs; tube 1 mm long; lobes 2 mm long, narrowly triangular-lanceolate.
Standard purple or blue, 5.5 × 6.5 mm, very broadly obovate, emarginate.
Seeds reddish-brown, 2 × 1.5 mm, ± oblong.
Perennial herb with a tuberous rootstock.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) -
Root system creeping-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer rhizobia
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 23 - 26
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Desmodium cordifolium world distribution map, present in Angola, Central African Republic, Malawi, Tanzania, United Republic of, and Zambia

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:491677-1
WFO ID wfo-0000177056
COL ID 3534K
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Desmodium cordifolium Desmodium homblei Glycine cordifolia