Fabaceae FAMILY

Rhynchosia rufescens

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial

Growth—

Not known

Propagation

Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have ripened and dried 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. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Rhynchosia+rufescens>

Pollinators

Bees

References

[1]A Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon — Trimen H.; continued by Hooker J.D. · Dulau and Co; London. · 1898 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Very dated, but still a useful work. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
[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]Genetic Resources of Under-exploited Legumes/Tribal Pulses of Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu — Kalidass C. & Mohan V.R. · 2011 ↩︎
[PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎