两节假木豆 liang jie jia mu dou

Desmodium dispermum Hayata, Icon. Pl. Formosan. 3: 69. 1913.

Shrubs or small trees, 2-3 m tall. Branches glabrescent. Leaves 3-foliolate; petiole 5-12 mm; terminal leaflet blade obovate or elliptic, 1.3-2.5 × 1-1.5 cm, lateral leaflets nearly equal or slightly smaller, abaxially densely appressed sericeous especially on midvein, adaxially sparsely pubescent, lateral veins 5-9 on each side of midvein, not reaching margin. Inflo­rescences shortly racemose, 1-2 cm, 5-7-flowered. Pedicel 2.5-5 mm. Calyx campanulate; lower lobes narrowly triangular; up­per lobe broadly ovate, entire or minutely 2-toothed at apex. Corolla white; standard broadly elliptic or nearly orbicular, 8-11 × 7-9 mm; wings 7-10 × 2.5-3 mm, clawed at base; keel 8-11 × ca. 3 mm, base shortly clawed. Stamens ca. 8 mm. Pistil ca. 1 cm; ovary densely sericeous; style ca. 7 mm, glabrous. Legume narrowly oblong, 1-2 × 0.5-0.6 cm, usually 2-jointed, extremely rarely 1-jointed, densely appressed sericeous, reticu­late veined. Seed elliptic, ca. 4 × 3 mm. Fl. Oct, fr. Oct-Nov.

● Thicket margins near the sea, open places; sea level to 200 m. S Taiwan.