Desmanthus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Desmanthus
Desmanthus illinoensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Mimosoideae
Genus: Desmanthus
Willd.[1]

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.

[edit] Species[2]

Desmanthus bicornutus
Desmanthus bicornutus
Desmanthus illinoensis seeds
Desmanthus illinoensis seeds
Desmanthus pernambucanus
Desmanthus pernambucanus
Desmanthus pubescens
Desmanthus pubescens
Desmanthus virgatus and buffel grass
Desmanthus virgatus and buffel grass
Desmanthus virgatus
Desmanthus virgatus
  • Desmanthus acuminatus Benth.
  • Desmanthus balsensis J.L. Contr.
  • Desmanthus bicornutus S. Watson
  • Desmanthus brevipes B. L. Turner
  • Desmanthus cooleyi (Eaton) Trel.
  • Desmanthus covillei (Britton & Rose) Wiggins ex B. L. Turner
  • Desmanthus fruticosus Rose
  • Desmanthus glandulosus (B. L. Turner) Luckow
  • Desmanthus hexapetalus (Micheli) J.F. Macbr.
  • Desmanthus illinoensis (Michx.) MacMill. ex B. L. Rob.
  • Desmanthus interior (Britton & Rose) Bullock
  • Desmanthus leptolobus Torr. & A. Gray
  • Desmanthus leptophyllus Kunth
  • Desmanthus obtusus S. Watson
  • Desmanthus oligospermus Brandegee
  • Desmanthus painteri (Britton & Rose) Standl.
  • Desmanthus paspalaceus (Lindm.) Burkart
  • Desmanthus pernambucanus (L.) Thell.
  • Desmanthus pringlei (Britton & Rose) F.J. Herm.
  • Desmanthus pubescens B. L. Turner
  • Desmanthus pumilus (Schltdl.) J. F. Macbr.
  • Desmanthus reticulatus Benth.
  • Desmanthus tatuhyensis Hoehne
  • Desmanthus tatuhyensis var. brevipes (B. L. Turner) Luckow
  • Desmanthus tatuhyensis var. tatuhyensis
  • Desmanthus velutinus Scheele
  • Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
  • Desmanthus virgatus var. depressus (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) B. L. Turner
  • Desmanthus virgatus var. glandulosus B. L. Turner

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. The root-bark, which accounts for half of the total weight of the root system, is reported to contain anywhere from 0% to 0.34% DMT and 0.11% N-methyltryptamine. Alkaloid content is highly variable in this species.[3]

Likewise, root bark of Desmanthus leptolobus has been found to contain N,N-DMT and related tryptamines. While its only reported quantitative analysis was 0.14% (Appleseed), all instances of co-occurrence with D. illinoensis showed it to be noticeably stronger than D. illinoensis, according to co-thin layer chromatography of the root bark.[4]

In Australia three species 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 Cultivar "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.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Desmanthus information from NPGS/GRIN. www.ars-grin.gov. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  2. ^ Desmanthus % - ILDIS LegumeWeb. www.ildis.org. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  3. ^ Desmanthus (Ayahuasca: alkaloids, plants & analogs)
  4. ^ Ayahuasca: alkaloids, plants & analogs: assembled by Keeper of the Trout
Languages