Pan India Bouquets

Desmodium motorium (Houtt.) Merr.

Family : Fabaceae
(Pea Or Bean Family)
Family (Hindi name) : PALASH FAMILY (पलाश फैमिली)
Family (as per The APG System III) : Leguminosae
Subfamily : Faboideae
Synonym(s) : Codariocalyx gyrans (L.f.) Hassk.; Codariocalyx motorius var. glaber X.Y.Zhu & Y.F.Du; Codariocalyx motorius var. roylei (Wight & Arn.) Ohashi; Desmodium gyrans (L.f.) DC.; Desmodium motorium (Houtt.) Merr.; Desmodium roylei Wight & Arn.; Hedysarum gyrans L.f.; Hedysarum motorium Houtt.; Hedysarum saliens Salisb.; Meibomia gyrans (L.f.) Kuntze; Pseudarthria gyrans (L.f.) Hassk.
Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Codariocalyx motorius (Houtt.) H.Ohashi
Common name : Indian telegraphic plant, Semaphore Plant
Vernacular name : Nagathakara, Thozhukanni, Ramanamapacha (Malayalam); Nageswar, Ban chandal (Bengali); Dudli (Hindi); Aelemudure, Naagathagare, Nagar gare (Kannada); Tolukanni (Tamil); Thozhuganni, Touganni (Telugu); Tuani-themtang (Mizo)
Habit : Erect shrub
Habitat : On dry banks, 300 - 1650 m. altitude
Comments / notes : The Telegraph plant owes its name to the fact that the leaflets especially the lateral ones when exposed to sunlight exhibit spontaneous jerky movements. Sometimes cultivated as an ornamental.
Flower, Fruit : August-October
Distribution :
- Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam, West Himalaya
Exotic/Native : Native
World Distribution : Tropical and subtropical Asia
Literature : Uniyal B.P., Sharma J.R., Choudhery U., Singh D.K. (2007). Flowering Plants of Uttarakhand: A Checklist. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh: 105; GRIERSON A.J.C. & LONG D.G. (1983). FLORA OF BHUTAN INCLUDING A RECORD OF PLANTS FROM SIKKIM Vol. 1: Part 3. ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, EDINBURGH: 670
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Navendu Page, Deepak Kumar (2020). Pan India Bouquets. http://flora-peninsula-indica.ces.iisc.ac.in/pan/plants.php?name=Desmodium motorium. Downloaded on 27 September 2023.

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