3. Dendrolobium triangulare (Retzius) Schindler, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 20: 279. 1924.
假木豆 jia mu dou
Hedysarum triangulare Retzius, Observ. Bot. 3: 40. 1783; Desmodium cephalotes (Roxburgh) Wight & Arnott; D. triangulare (Retzius) Merrill; H. cephalotes Roxburgh.
Shrubs, 1-2 m tall. Young shoots sharply triangular, densely gray sericeous. Leaves 3-foliolate; petiole 1-2.5 cm; terminal leaflet blade narrowly obovate-elliptic, 7-15 × 3-6 cm, lateral leaflets slightly smaller, abaxially long sericeous especially on veins, adaxially glabrous, lateral veins 10-17 on each side of midvein, straight, reaching margin. Umbels 20-30-flowered. Pedicels not equal, densely appressed sericeous. Calyx 5-9 mm; tube 1.8-3 mm. Corolla white or pale yellow; standard broadly elliptic, shortly clawed; wings and keel oblong, base clawed. Stamens 0.8-1.2 cm. Pistil 0.7-1.4 cm; ovary densely pubescent; style 7-12 mm. Legume 2-2.5 cm, slightly arcuate, appressed sericeous, sessile, 3-6-jointed. Seed elliptic, 2.5-3.5 × 2-2.5 mm. Fl. Aug-Oct, fr. Oct-Dec. 2n = 22*.
Grassy riverbanks, thickets on mountain slopes; 100-1400 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; Africa].
The roots are used medicinally to strengthen bones and build muscle.
