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Alysicarpus vaginalis
Fabaceae FAMILY

Alysicarpus vaginalis

Alysicarpus vaginalis

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual/Perennial
Growth—

Alysicarpus vaginalis is a plant of tropics in both areas with year-round rain and those with a distinct dry season of up to 6 months, where it is found at elevations up to 1,400 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 30°c, but can tolerate 15 - 35°c[1, 2]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -5°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[2]. Although killed by heavy frosts, the plant will generally regenerates strongly from seed in the following spring/summer[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 700 - 4,300mm[2]. The plant grows well under moderate shade and is more vigorous under the canopy of shrubs rather than in the open[1]. It succeeds on a wide range of soil types, from coraline sands to clays, but prefers lighter soils[3]. It requires a well-drained soil[3]. Although it does not like waterlogged conditions it is able to tolerate short periods of inundation[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8.5[2]. This species is a common weed of lawns throughout the Asian region[4, 3]. Although fire is uncommon in the heavily grazed swards that favour this plant, a perennial accession not only persisted but was able to spread following a fire in Florida - this was due to its deep, well-developed crown. Very hot fires may kill the plant but the species will recover from seed[1]. A short-day plant producing relatively high seed yields in the first season of growth[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[5].

Propagation

Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing[PFAF]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Alysicarpus+vaginalis>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Tropical Forages — http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/index.htm ↩︎Mainly focussed on forage plants, the site gives a lot of information on the plant, with a good botanical description, details of cultivation, plant uses and a good selection of photographs.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  4. [4]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  5. [5]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
  6. [6]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  7. [7]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
  8. [8]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎