medicinal herbs
Desmodium elegans

Herb latin name: Desmodium elegans

Synonyms: Desmodium tiliaefolium, Hedysarum tiliaefolium

Family: Leguminosae

Medicinal use of Desmodium elegans:

The roots are carminative, diuretic and tonic. They are used in the treatment of bilious complaints.The juice of the root, sometimes combined with the bark juice of Bauhinia malabarica, is used in the treatment of cholera. The juice of the bark is used in the treatment of peptic ulcers.

Description of the plant:

Plant:

Deciduous
Shrub

Height:

150 cm
(5 feet)

Flowering:

August to
October

Habitat of the herb:

Dry grassy slopes and in glades in deodar forests to 2700 metres. Forest margins, forests, thickets, mountain slopes, rocky places, roadsides and ditches at elevations of 1000 - 4000 metres.

Other uses of Desmodium elegans:

A fibre from the bark is used for ropes and paper making. The wood is a good fuel.

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 elegans: