Fabaceae FAMILY
Christia vespertilionis
Christia vespertilionis
Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
HabitPerennial
Growth—
The plant grows on lighter soils in the wild[1]. Originally native to the East Indies, the plant has spread to many areas of the tropics and is a weed in Jamaica[2, 1]. The plant can flower and fruit all year round[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[3].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Christia+vespertilionis>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]Flowering Plants of Jamaica — Adams. C.D. · University of the West Indies; Jamaica. · 1972 ↩︎A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc.
- [2]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.
- [3]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.