Herb latin name: Desmodium caudatum


Synonyms: Catenaria caudata, Desmodium laburnifolium, Hedysarum caudatum


Family: Leguminosae



Medicinal use of Desmodium caudatum:

The plant is analgesic, antipyretic, antiseptic and depurative. The root and leaves are used.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
150 cm
(5 feet)

Flowering:
July to
September

Habitat of the herb:

Woods in C. and S. Japan. Mountain slopes, roadsides, grasslands, streamsides and forest margins at elevations of 100 - 1000 metres in China.

Other uses of Desmodium caudatum:

The roots and leaves are used as a pesticide.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Scarify and pre-soak stored seed for 5 hours in warm water then sow March in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates within 1 - 4 months at 25°C. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer and consider giving them some protection from frost in their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in a frame. Division as the plant comes into growth in the spring. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring. Root cuttings in winter.

Cultivation of Desmodium caudatum:

Woods in C. and S. Japan. Mountain slopes, roadsides, grasslands, streamsides and forest margins at elevations of 100 - 1000 metres in China.

Known hazards of Desmodium caudatum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.