Maha Undupiyaliya Desmodium heterophyllum

Common name - Maha Undupiyaliya

Botanical name - Desmodium heterophyllum

Family         - Fabaceae

Life cycle - Perennial

Morphology

• Multi-branching, strongly stoloniferous stems, rooting freely from stolons and lower nodes of aerial stems.  Stems angular, reddish-brown, tomentose, the brown hairs 1.5–2.0 mm long.  Height rarely exceeds 15–20cm.  
• Leaves trifoliate, stalk of the terminal leaflet (4–5 mm long) four to five times longer than those of lateral leaflets. Leaves stipulate, the stipules long (4–6 mm), tapering, with hairy margins and parallel venation, obovate, margins entire, apex slightly emarginate, densely pubescent (hairs whitish coloured) on both dorsal and ventral surface. Reddish-brown, and covered with brown hairs.
• Flowers small (3–5 mm long), pink, giving rise to a 3–6 jointed, undulate 
• Pod, which fractures at the joints on maturity.  Pods 12–25 mm long, 4–5 mm wide, finely pubescent.  
• Seeds kidney shaped 2.25–2.50 mm long and 1.50–1.75 mm wide, yellowish brown turning dark brown with age;  seed coat glabrous .

Propagation 

• Cuttings of rooted stolons and aerial stems and Seeds

Agricultural usage/ importance

• A minor weed for rice.
• Traditional Medicine for urinary retention and digestive complaints
• The leaves are used as a galactagogue.
• Soil erosion control

Control method

• Pre-emergence prometryne alone or with simazine, alachlor plus 2, 4-D, diuron or fluometuron plus surfactant (seedlings). 
• Foliar treatment with 2, 4-D or 2, 4, 5-T should be effective.