Desmanthus
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Desmanthus is a genus of about 24 species of herbs and shrubs and is sometimes described as being suffruiticose. It is in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae, with bipinnate leaves. Desmanthus is closely related to Leucaena and in appearance is similar to Neptunia. Like Mimosa and Neptunia, Desmanthus folds its leaves in the evening. It is native to Mexico and North, Central and South America.
D. virgatus has a number of common names such as `hedge lucerne' in India, `little mimosa' in Brazil, `bundleflower' in the USA, `leucaena mini' in Indonesia, `dwarf koa', `dais' in Mexico,`donkey bean' and `desmanthus'.
The term "donkey bean" comes from Central America where Desmanthus is highly regarded as a fodder for donkeys which are a valued domestic draught animals.
There are considerable differences in the descriptions of Desmanthus in the literature (see Bogdan 1977; Skerman 1977; National Academy of Science 1979; Allen & Allen 1981; Reid 1983; Hacker 1990). For example, Reid (1983) says that Desmanthus virgatus ranges from "leggy" plants in the humid tropics to compact bushes in the semi-arid zones to prostrate in the montane zones; Allen and Allen (1981) state that Desmanthus grows to 3 metres; Hacker (1990) states that D. virgatus is an erect shrub 1.3 metres tall. All these views illustrate the great diversity and polymorphism within the genus and between species.
In the United States Illinois bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis) is the most widely distributed Desmanthus species.
In Australia three cultivars of Desmanthus have been released as a pasture legume and many other accessions are being evaluated as pasture species for clay soils. The three released cultivars are:
- Desmanthus virgatus Cultivar "Marc"(Accession number: CPI 78373) which is described as early flowering, decumbent to ascending, growing 30 to 60 cm tall and originates from Argentina.
- Desmanthus leptophyllus Ccultivar "Bayamo" (CPI 82285), mid season flowering, ascending type, 95–135 cm tall, from Cuba
- Desmanthus pubescens Cultivar "Uman" (CPI 92803), late flowering, decumbent shrub, taller and wider spreading than Marc, 40–100 cm tall, from Mexico.
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