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View crop Data sheet EcoPortDesmanthus virgatus
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| DESCRIPTION: Erect to decumbent leguminous shrubs, mostly 0.5ˆ1.5 (ˆ2.5) m tall, little branched from the base. Leaves bipinnate, 4ˆ11 cm long. Whitish, mimosoid flower heads, about 10 mm long, comprising 8ˆ13 florets. Pods narrow, linear, straight, 4.5ˆ8.5 cm long, 3.2ˆ3.9 mm wide. KILLING T: Crowns survive frosting but top growth is frost-sensitive. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial or sometimes annual small shrub or herb. It can be harvested four times a year in Hawaii and flowers 45 to 50 days after cutting. USE: Protein banks, hedgerows, green manure, soil cover crop. Not well suited to mixed pasture and for hay. Has been shown to be an efficient nursery-stage host for sandalwood (Santalum album). COMMON NAMES: False tamarind, Dwarf koa, Desmanthus, Acacia courant, Acacia savana. FURTHER INF: Synonyms: Mimosa virgata, Desmanthus depressus, D. pernambucanus. It is native of the Americas from Florida to Argentina. Grows in moist roadside situations, ditches, and abandoned pastures, coastal thickets and along the edges of marshesand tidal zones at elevations between sea level and 2000 m, most commonly below 500 m. Annual rainfall in its native coastal habitats ranges from 1000-2000 mm. Because of its vigour, the plant can become a troublesome weed in cultivated fields. Yields of fresh material up to 70 t/ha in northern Australia, and up to 23 t/ha in Hawaii. Dry matter yields of 7.6 t/ha in Fiji. | Sources |
| Grassland Index - In Ecocrop as synonym Desmanthus virgatus Grassland Index Skerman P 1988 pp 548-550 [TEXT, RAIN, PH, TEMP, DRA] Mannetje L 1992 pp 105-106 [RAIN, PH, TEXT, KTMP] National RC 1979 pp 126 Tropical forages 2005 |