Code
DEDAD
Growth form
broadleaf
Biological cycle
annual
Habitat
terrestrial
synonym | Desmodium adscendens var. caeruleum (Lindl.) DC. |
synonym | Desmodium adscendens var. caeruleum (Lindl.)DC. |
synonym | Desmodium caespitosum (Poir.) DC. |
synonym | Desmodium caespitosum (Poir.)DC. |
synonym | Desmodium coeruleum (Lindl.) G. Don |
synonym | Desmodium glaucescens Miq. |
synonym | Desmodium heterophyllum sensu auct. |
synonym | Desmodium heterophyllum Sensu auct. |
synonym | Desmodium obovatum Vogel |
synonym | Desmodium oxalidifolium G.Don |
synonym | Desmodium oxalidifolium Miq. |
synonym | Desmodium strangulatum Thwaites |
synonym | Desmodium thwaitesii Baker |
synonym | Desmodium triflorum var. heterophyllum sensu auct. |
synonym | Desmodium triflorum var. heterophyllum Sensu auct. |
synonym | Desmodium trifoliastrum Miq. |
synonym | Desmodium vogelii Steud. |
synonym | Grona adscendens (Sw.) H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi |
synonym | Grona adscendens var. robusta (B.G.Schub.) H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi |
synonym | Hedysarum adscendens Sw. |
synonym | Hedysarum adscendens var. caeruleum Lindl. |
synonym | Hedysarum caespitosum Poir. |
synonym | Meibomia adscendens (Sw.) Kuntze |
synonym | Meibomia adscendens (Sw.)Kuntze |
synonym | Meibomia thwaitesii (Baker) Kuntze |
synonym | Meibomia thwaitesii (Baker)Kuntze |
synonym | Meibomia trifoliastra (Miq.) Kuntze |
synonym | Meibomia trifoliastra (Miq.)Kuntze |
Creoles and pidgins; French-based |
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English |
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Portuguese |
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Spanish; Castilian |
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Global description
Desmodium adscendens is a sarmentous plant with stems more or less trailing and ascending at apex, pubescent but becoming glabrous when aged. The leaves are trifoliate, with lateral symmetrical leaflets, elliptical or oval, smaller than the terminal leaflet. The ribs are lightly marked. The inflorescences are terminal or axilaries, elongated. The flowers are white, pink or purple in colour, are organized in pairs. The fruit is a pod ending in a short tip, with 3 to 6 articles at right top edge and bottom edge fringed between the articles up to half or 2/3 of the width of the pod.
First leaves
The first leaves are simple, then becoming bi-foliate then trifoliate from the fifth leaf. The lamina is elliptical, attenuated at the end, 1.5 to 3 cm long and 0.7 to 2 cm wide. The upper side is puberulent to sub-glabrous, the lower face finely pubescent. The margin is entire.
General habit
Desmodium adscendens is a sarmentous plant, with long spreading stems, more or less ascending, reaching up to 1 m length.
Stem
Sprawling or ascending stems, pubescent with long yellow appressed hairs when young, becoming shaggy hairs on mature stems and then becoming rapidly glabrescent with age. It is solid with rounded to slightly trigonal section.
Leaf
Adult leaves are alternate, compound, trifoliate. They are held by a petiole subtended by two closely oval lanceolate stipules, slightly asymmetrical at the base, attenuated at the top, 5 to 10 mm long and free. The lateral leaflets are broadly elliptic to obovate, shortly petiolulate with small stipels at the base. They are symmetrical in shape. They measure 1.5 to 4.5 cm long and 0.7 to 3 cm wide. The terminal leaflet is obovate, much bigger than the lateral leaflets. The leaflets are attenuated cuneate at its base and largely or rounded cuneate at the top with a very short mucro. The margin is entire. The upper side is puberulent to glabrous, the lower surface is finely pubescent, of uniform green color, usually not variegated. Young leaves have underside with abundant appressed yellow hairs. The lateral venations are arched, not reaching the margin, but are slightly marked.
Inflorescence
The inflorescence is a loose terminal or axilary racems, 4 to 20 cm long, with long straggly hairs, comprising of a succession of stalked flowers, arranged in pairs. Primary bracts are narrowly ovate, attenuated at the top, 4 to 6 mm long, pubescent and quickly deciduous.
Flower
Flower is of papilionaceous type, and is held by a pedicel 4 to 15 mm long (up to 20 mm on the fruit). The tubular calyx of 2 to 3 mm long is divided into narrow triangular lobes, on more than half of its length. The outer surface is finely puberulent, covered with hooked hairs, longer on the lobes. The standard is white, pink or purple, 4 to 5.5 mm long. The stamens are fused into a beam of 9 stamens forming a sleeve under the ovary, with 1 free stamen above the ovary.
Fruit
The fruit is a pod, 1 to 3.5 cm long, ending with a short often angled tip. The pod consist of 3 to 6 obovate articles, 5 to 8 mm long and 3 to 4 mm wide, the upper edge is straight and the lower edge is indented between the articles up to half or two thirds of the width. The tegument is covered with small hanging hooked hairs.
Seed
The seed is flattened, kidney-shaped to ellipsoid, 4 to 5 mm long and 2.5 mm wide.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Benin: D. adscendens flowers and fruits from May to August and from October to December.
West Indies: Desmodium adscendens flowers and fruits all year round, but especially from November to March.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Demodium adscendens is an annual species to shortly perennial. It is propagated by seeds. They are dispersed by fragmentation of articles of pod clinging to animal fur and clothing.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Comparison between small creeping Desmodium species
(leaflets eliptical to obovate ; the last leaflet longer than leteral ones)
leaflet hairyness | Size of leaflets (L : long ; l : large) |
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leaflets glabrous | small (4-8 mm L x 5-11 mm l) |
D. triflorum |
leaflets pubescent | medium (7-25 mm L x 7-20 mm l) |
D. hirtum |
big (15-45 mm L x 7-30 mm l) |
D. adscendens |
Bipinnate leaves | 1 to 2 pairs of pinnae | Mimosa pudica | |||||
3 to 9 pairs of pinnae | Mimosa diplotricha | ||||||
Pinnate leaves | Clitoria heterophylla | ||||||
Trifoliate leaves | symmetrical lateral leaflets | elliptical or lateral leaflets | terminal leaflets equal to lateral leaflets | Teramnus labialis | |||
Terminal leaflets larger than lateral leaflets | very marked ribs | Cajanus scarabaeoides | |||||
ribs lightly marked | leaflets > 10 mm | Desmodium adscendens | |||||
leaflets < 10 mm | Desmodium triflorum | ||||||
Ends of leaflets wedged | Narrow lanceolate leaflets (2 cm) | Macroptilium lathyroides | |||||
large acuminate leaflets | Trigonal stem, scabrous at the angles | Desmodium intortum | |||||
Cylindrical stem | Leaflets with a silver tinge | petiolules of 2 mm | Desmodium incanum | ||||
petiolules 5 to 15 mm | Desmodium uncinatum | ||||||
Green uniform leaflets | wide terminal leaflet (7 cm) | Centrosema pubescens | |||||
very wide terminal leaflet(15 cm) | Centrosema plumieri | ||||||
asymmetrical lateral leaflets | Terminal leaflet has a longer width than length | Rhynchosia malacophylla | |||||
terminal leaflet as wide as long | large leaves (15 cm) | Rhynchosia viscosa | |||||
small leaves (7 cm) | Rhynchosia minima | ||||||
elongated terminal leaflets | lateral leaflets with a single rounded lobe | ||||||
lateral leaflets without lobe | large stipules (6 mm) | Lablab purpureus | |||||
small stipules (2 mm) | Mucuna pruriens |
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Desmodium adscendens is a ruderal species that is found in disturbed open areas and along roadsides.
Benin: Desmodium adscendens grows in humid shady places and in fallow land.
Brazil: D. adscendens is a native species. It grows well on all types of soil, even in arid situations. It is resistant to drought, fire and trampling.
French Guiana: Desmodium adscendens is a very common species in wet grasslands.
Ivory Coast: It occurs mainly in forest areas and in perennial crops (palm, cocoa).
Mauritius: D. adscendens is an occasional species in shaded areas on the mountains (also present in Rodrigues).
West Indies: Desmodium adscendens grows in humid grasslands and savannahs, in forests especially along paths.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Origin
Desmodium adscendens is native to the equatorial regions of Africa and Latin America.
Worldwide distribution
Desmodium adscendens is a pantropical species (tropical Africa, India, South East Asia, Oceania), present in Mauritius and Rodrigues and occasionally present in Reunion
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Local harmfulness
Brazil: Desmodium adscendens can become invasive in lawns, sports fields and in perennial crops.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Agronomic: Desmodium adscendens is a grass legume used as fodder. It is very common in the wet grasslands of French Guiana, present in 60% of pastoral plots and with a cover of 20 to 40%.
Medicinal: Desmodium adscendens is widely used in Cameroon and Ivory Coast for various liver disease, including viral hepatitis.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Desmodium%2520adscendens
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Magnoliopsida |
Order | Fabales |
Family | Fabaceae |
Genus | Desmodium |
Species | Desmodium adscendens (Sw.) DC. |