Home | > | List of families | > | Fabaceae subfamily Papilionoideae | > | Desmodium | > | tortuosum |
Synonyms: |
Hedysarum tortuosum Sw. Meibomia tortuosa (Sw.) Kuntze |
Common names: | Florida beggar weed (English) |
Frequency: | |
Status: | Introduced |
Description: |
Erect perennial herb or subshrub, up to 1.5 m. A native of tropical America, it is widespread in the tropical world, where it is cultivated as a nitrogen-enricher. Leaves 3-foliolate with small hairs on both surfaces and longer hairs on the veins below. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, up to 30 cm long. Flowers blue-mauve or pink, occasionally blue-green. Pods up to 3.2 cm, glandular hairy, often twisted at the constrictions between the articles. |
Notes: | |
Derivation of specific name: | tortuosum: much twisted, referring to the pods |
Habitat: | A weed of roadsides, railways and cultivated land, also in Brachystegia woodland and wooded grassland. |
Flowering time: | |
Worldwide distribution: | Native of tropical America but widely cultivated as a nitrogen-enricher and hence naturalised. |
Growth form(s): | |
Endemic status: | |
Red data list status: | |
Insects associated with this species: | |
Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
Content last updated: | Wednesday 28 February 2024 |
Literature: |
Drummond, R.B. (1972). A list of Rhodesian Legumes. Kirkia 8(2) Page 219. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 47. Verdcourt, B. (2000). Papilionoideae Flora Zambesiaca 3(6) Pages 11 - 12. |
Home | > | List of families | > | Fabaceae subfamily Papilionoideae | > | Desmodium | > | tortuosum |