Desmodium intortum | |
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Flowerhead | |
In Hawaii | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Desmodium |
Species: | D. intortum |
Binomial name | |
Desmodium intortum (Mill.) Urb. | |
Synonyms | |
List
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Desmodium intortum, known as greenleaf desmodium and also as beggarlice along with other members of its genus, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Desmodium, native to Mexico, Central America, northern South America, the Galápagos, Haiti and Jamaica. A nitrogen-fixing fodder crop, it has been introduced to the rest of the world's tropics, including Africa, India, Australia, New Guinea and Taiwan
Desmodium intortum is used in push–pull agricultural pest management since it contains potent secondary metabolites that are released into the soil and aerially. Inter-cropped in maize and sorghum fields, it repels Chilo partellus, a stem-boring grass moth, and suppresses witchweeds, including Asiatic witchweed (Striga asiatica) and purple witchweed (S. hermonthica).
References
- Symb. Antill. 8: 292 (1920)
- ^ "Desmodium intortum L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- "The Plant Encyclopedia - Desmodium". The Plant Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
Taxon identifiers | |
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Desmodium intortum |
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Hedysarum intortum |