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Desmodium heterophyllum

Authority (Wiulld.) DC. Family Magnoliopsida:Rosidae:Fabales:Leguminosae Synonyms Common names hetero, senivakacegu Editor Ecocrop code 892

Notes
DESCRIPTION: Prostrate, multi-branching, strongly stoloniferous stems, rooting freely from stolons and lower nodes of aerial stems. Leaves trifoliate, terminal leaflet (15ˆ20 mm long and 10ˆ15 mm wide) larger than lateral leaflets (12ˆ15 mm long and 8ˆ10 mm wide). Flowers small (3ˆ5 mm long), pink. Pods 12ˆ25 mm long, 4ˆ5 mm wide, finely pubescent. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial, growing in the summer. USE: Component of grazed pastures dominated by creeping grasses. Tolerance to spread under heavy grazing allows it to persist under conditions of management that result in the loss of most other legumes. It has been used as ground cover under pepper gardens. COMMON NAMES: Hetero, Spanish clover. FURTHER INF: It is native to Southeast Asia. Synonyms: Hedysarum heterophyllum, Meibomia heterophylla. It is native of tropical Asia. In the southern hemisphere it occurs from equator to about 20°S at elevations from sea-level to 900 m. Requires 1500-4000 mm annual rainfall and may persist through moderate dry seasons of 5 months length. It will tolerate waterlogged soils and short-term flooding. Grows on a wide range of soils from sands to clays. Very efficient at extracting phosphorus from infertile soils and will tolerate low pH and high Al, but has little salt, drought and frost tolerance.
Sources
Grassland Index Skerman P 1988 pp 271-274 [TEMP, KTMP, RAIN, DRA, TEXT, PH, SAL, FER, LIG] Bogdan A 1977 pp 343-344 [RAIN] Heath M 1985 pp 159 [TEMP, RAIN, TEXT, PH] Bryant P 1973 pp 344-345 [TEXT, RAIN, FER] Mannetje L 1992 pp 110-112 [RAIN, TEXT, PH, SAL, KTMP, LIMIT] Tropical forages 2005