Tree Fanatic

Tree Species

Derris heterophylla (Willd.) Backer ex K. Heyne

Taxonomy
Species:
Derris heterophylla (Willd.) Backer ex K. Heyne
Genus:
Derris

Common Names

  • No common names

Properties

Botanic
A liana up to at least 15 m long, sometimes an erect shrub, branches soon becoming glabrous, dark red. Leaflets 3-5(-7), variably glabrous. Inflorescence terminal and axillary; flowers with glabrous, green calyx and white, pale pink or pale mauve corolla, standard without basal callosities, glabrous; fruit oblong or elliptical to broadly oval, with a narrow wing along one side.
Habitat
D. trifoliata grows near the coast in swampy scrub vegetation and forest behind beaches, on muddy foreshores and estuaries, and in edges of mangroves, sometimes in pure stands.

Cultivation and Marketing

Uses and Function
Medicine: D. trifoliata is used in local medicine in India as a stimulant, antispasmodic and counter-irritant, and against rheumatism, chronic paralysis and dysmenorrhoea, and in Papua New Guinea a decoction of the roots is used externally against fever and internally against sores. Thai traditional doctors use roots or stems as a laxative, carminative and anti-arthritis treatment. Poison: It serves as a fish poison. Fodder: The leaves are sometimes used as fodder.