Hylodesmum podocarpum subsp. Fallax (syn. Desmodium podocarpum var fallax)

Vasilis Teodoridis:
| Fabaceae | Hylodesmum

7. Hylodesmum podocarpum (Candolle) H. Ohashi & R. R. Mill; Edinburgh J. Bot. 57: 181. 2000.

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Herbs; erect; 50-110 cm tall. Stem and petiole sparsely spreading pubescent or glabrous. Leaves 3-foliolate; petiole 2-12 cm; terminal leaflet blade variable in shape and size; broadly ovate; ovate; or rhombic to narrowly lanceolate. Racemes or panicles; terminal or terminal and axillary; 20-30 cm; elongated to 40 cm at fruiting; often 2-flowered at each node. Pedicel 2-4 mm; elongated to 5-6 mm at fruiting. Calyx ca. 2 mm; lobes shorter than tube. Corolla purplish red; ca. 4 mm; standard broadly obovate; wings narrowly elliptic; keel similar to wings; not clawed. Ovary stipitate. Legume ca. 1.6 cm; often 2-jointed; articles slightly broadly subobovate; 5-10 x 3-4 mm; with hooked and minute straight hairs; stipe 3-5 mm; fruiting pedicel ca. 6 mm. 2n = 22*.

Roadsides; grassy slopes; grasslands on high mountains; mountain slopes; forests; thickets; forest margins; ditches; 100-2100 m. Anhui; Fujian; Gansu; Guangdong; Guangxi; Guizhou; ?Hainan; Hebei; E Hei­longjiang; Henan; Hubei; Hunan; Jiangsu; Jiangxi; Jilin; Liaoning; Shaanxi; Shandong; Shanxi; Sichuan; Taiwan; Xizang; Yunnan; Zhe­jiang [Bhutan; India; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Laos; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Philippines; Russia (Far East); Vietnam].

The whole plant including the root bark is used medicinally for reducing fever and curing malaria.

The Hylodesmum podocarpum complex is extremely variable in the shape of the terminal leaflets; although the taxa resemble each other in having laxly flowered inflorescences; small flowers; non-clawed wings and keel petals; broadly subobovate small articles; and similar areas of distribution. The taxonomic ranks for these infraspecific taxa are somewhat confusing. Huang considers the complex to consist of one species; Podocarpium podocarpum; including four varieties; while Ohashi and Mill (loc. cit.) consider it to consist of Hylodesmum podocarpum and three subspecies; one of which contains a variety.
7b. Hylodesmum podocarpum subsp. fallax (Schindler) H. Ohashi & R. R. Mill; Edinburgh J. Bot. 57: 182. 2000.

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Desmodium fallax Schindler; Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 54: 55. 1916; D. podocarpum subsp. fallax (Schindler) H. Ohashi; Hylodesmum podocarpum var. fallax (Schindler) X. F. Gao; Podocarpium fallax (Schindler) C. Chen & X. J. Cui; P. podocarpum var. fallax (Schindler) Y. C. Yang & P. H. Huang.

Herbs; 70-100 cm tall. Stem pubescent. Terminal leaflet broadly ovate or ovate; 3.5-12 x 2.5-8 cm; both surfaces ad­pressed pubescent; base broadly cuneate or suborbicular; apex acuminate or caudate-acute. Fl. Aug-Nov. 2n = 22.

Roadsides on mountain slopes; thickets; sparse forests; forest mar­gins; 300-1400 m. Anhui; Fujian; Gansu; Guangdong; Guangxi; Gui­zhou; ?Hainan; Hubei; Hunan; Jiangsu; Jiangxi; Shaanxi; Shanxi; Si­chuan; Yunnan; Zhejiang [Japan; Korea].