Horse bush tree, Sea vetch tree
A tropical plant. In Papua New Guinea it occurs from sea level to 180 m altitude. It grows along intertidal rivers and sandy shores and in lowland forests. It needs well drained soil. It needs a sunny position in the drier tropics. It grows near sea shores. It grows on sandy soils and also grows on soils with high pH. It is drought tolerant.
Also known as:
Blanak, Chillagoe Pea, Damle, Daun buaya, Drejeg, Kenyere laut, Petai belalang, Petai laut, Pohon kanyere laut, Pohon petai laut, Renengan, Sna hua jia mu dou
Synonyms
- Dendrolobium australe (Willd.) Benth.
- Desmodium australe (Willd.) DC.
- Desmodium umbellatum (L.) DC.
- Hedysarum australe Roxb.
- Hedysarum umbellatum L.
- Ormocarpum umbellatum (L.) Desv.
- and others
Edible Portion
- Leaves, Fruit
Where does Horse bush tree grow?
Found in: Africa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Cambodia, China, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mascarenes, Myanmar, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Rotuma, Ryuku, SE Asia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South America, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vietnam
Notes: There are about 350 Desmodium species. They are mostly in the tropics.
Growing Horse bush tree, Sea vetch tree
Cultivation: Plants can be grown from seed.
Edible Uses: The young leaves are used as a vegetable. The roasted fruit are eaten in the Andaman Islands.
Production: It can grow quickly.
Nutrition Info
per 100g edible portion| Edible Part | Energy (kcal) | Protein (g) | Iron (mg) | Vitamin A (ug) | Vitamin c (mg) | Zinc (mg) | % Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
References
Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 169 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Bhargava, N., 1983, Ethnobotanical Studies of the Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. 1. Onge. Economic Botany 37(1): 110-119 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Borrell, O.W., 1989, An Annotated Checklist of the Flora of Kairiru Island, New Guinea. Marcellin College, Victoria Australia. p 90 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 1 (A-H) p 808 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Cooper, W. and Cooper, W., 2004, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Nokomis Editions, Victoria, Australia. p 207
Cowie, I, 2006, A Survey of Flora and vegetation of the proposed Jaco-Tutuala-Lore National Park. Timor-Lests (East Timor) www.territorystories.nt/gov.au p 47
Doran, J.C., & Turnbull, J.W. (Eds), 1997, Australian Trees and Shrubs: species for land rehabilitation and farm plantings in the tropics. ACIAR Monograph No 24. p 352
Elliot, W.R., & Jones, D.L., 1984, Encyclopedia of Australian Plants suitable for cultivation. Vol 3. Lothian. p 252
Franklin, J., Keppel, G., & Whistler, W., 2008, The vegetation and flora of Lakeba, Nayau and Aiwa Islands, Central Lau Group, Fiji. Micronesica 40(1/2): 169–225, 2008
French, B.R., 2010, Food Plants of Solomon Islands. A Compendium. Food Plants International Inc. p 320 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Huang Puhua; H. Ohashi, FABACEAE (Draft), Trib. Desmodieae (Bentham) Hutchinson. Flora of China.
Lazarides, M. & Hince, B., 1993, Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia, CSIRO. p 78
F. A. W. Miquel, Pl. jungh. 216, 218. 1852
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 199 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Peekel, P.G., 1984, (Translation E.E.Henty), Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago for Naturalists, Division of Botany, Lae, PNG. p 235, 234
Pham-Hoang Ho, 1999, An Illustrated Flora of Vietnam. Nha Xuat Ban Tre. p 917
Prodr. 2:325. 1825
Schatz, G.E., 2001, Generic Tree Flora of Madagascar. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. p 188 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Sujanapal, P., & Sankaran, K. V., 2016, Common Plants of Maldives. FAO & Kerala FRI, p 109
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 225
Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 44 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Townsend, K., 1994, Across the Top. Gardening with Australian Plants in the tropics. Society for Growing Australian Plants, Townsville Branch Inc. p 157 (As Desmodium umbellatum)
Verdcourt, B., 1979, Manual of New Guinea Legumes. Botany Bulletin No 11, Division of Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. p 410
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Yuncker, T.G., 1959, Plants of Tonga, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Hawaii, Bulletin 220. p 141