Derris elliptica (Wallich) Benth.

A liana up to 16 m long, root reddish-brown, apical shoots often leafless for several meter and rusty pubescent. Leaflets 7-15, mostly densely rusty hairy on both surfaces when young. Inflorescences axillary or fascicled on older branches; flowers with rusty pubescent calyx and pinkish corolla, standard with basal callosities, rusty silky hairy. Fruit oblong or oblong-elliptical, with a narrow wing along both sides.

D. elliptica may start flowering at 18 months of age. Wild plants flower and fruit normally. Pods ripen about 4 months after fertilization. In cultivation fruiting is rare.

D. elliptica is commonly found in forest edges, roadsides and along rivers, in Java up to 1500 m altitude. D. elliptica may occur as weeds in forest plantations of Acacia, Eucalyptus and Swietenia. D. elliptica can survive dry periods of up to 4 months. This species is often confined to low altitudes.

D. elliptica is cultivated e.g. in India, southern China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, tropical Africa and America.

In tests in the Philippines, tissue culture of D. elliptica was found to be not viable due to low explant decontamination, retarded shoot regeneration for alcohol propagation and unsuccesful shoot regeneration from calli. Tissue culture to obtain rotenoids appears to be rather difficult. When leaves of D. elliptica were used for callus induction, only trace amounts of rotenoids (3 microgram/g on dry weight basis) were detected in the tissue subcultured for 4 months. Rotenoids biosynthesis decreased with frequent subcultures of callus tissue, was finally lost. Callus with imperfectly differentiated rootlets induced from the leaves or stems by regulating plant hormones contained rotenoids which were identified as rotenone and deguelin. The rotenone content was 160 microgram/g on dry weight basis. In other experiments in the Philippines root regeneration from calli induced from internodes, nodes and axillary buds of D. elliptica was obtained 3-5 weeks after inoculation on Shenck and Hildebrandt's medium supplemented with naphthalene acetic acid. Using Durham's test for rotenone, 60-100% of the calli and regenerated roots showed a positive reaction.

Diseases: Some fungal diseases are reported to damage planted D. elliptica: a rust (Ustilago derrides), a Gloeosporium sp. That causes the shoots tips to die, and an unidentified fungal disease that attacks cuttings in nursery beds. Pests: Pests are not serious and are easily controlled.

Poison: D. elliptica is used as a fish poison throughout southern Asia and the Pacific. The pounded root is considered the strongest fish poison in South-East Asia. Rotenone is used in fisheries in the Philippines, Bangladesh and India to remove predatory and other undesired fish from rearing pods. An extract from the roots of D. elliptica is reported to be employed as an ingredient of arrow poison in Borneo. The powdered root of D. elliptica is widely used as an insecticide. Medicine: D. elliptica is traditionally used for antisepsis and applied to abscesses and against leprosy and itch, and sometimes as an abortifacient. In Thailand, the roots are also used as emmenagogue and the stems as a blood tonic.