''Desmanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mimosoid clade of the subfamily

Caesalpinioideae Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name ''Caesalpinia''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae ...

of the

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

family,

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. The name is derived from the Greek words δεσμός (''desmos''), meaning "bundle", and ἄνθος (''anthos''), meaning "flower". It contains about 24 species of

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s that are sometimes described as being suffruiticose and have bipinnate leaves. ''Desmanthus'' is closely related to ''

Leucaena ''Leucaena'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the family Fabaceae. It contains about 24 species of trees and shrubs, which are commonly known as leadtrees. They are native to the Americas, ...

'' and in appearance is similar to '' Neptunia''. Like '' Mimosa'' and ''Neptunia'', ''Desmanthus'' species fold their leaves in the evening. They are native to Mexico and North,

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and South America. Members of the genus are commonly known as bundleflowers. Donkey beans is another common name and originated in Central America, where ''Desmanthus'' species are highly regarded as

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

for these domestic draught animals.

Description

There are considerable differences in the descriptions of ''Desmanthus'' in the literature (see Bogdan 1977; Skerman 1977; National Academy of Science 1979; Allen & Allen 1981; Reid 1983; Hacker 1990). For example, Reid (1983) says that ''Desmanthus virgatus'' ranges from "leggy" plants in the humid tropics to compact bushes in the semi-arid zones to prostrate in the montane zones; Allen and Allen (1981) state that ''Desmanthus'' grows to 3 metres; Hacker (1990) states that ''D. virgatus'' is an erect shrub 1.3 metres tall. All these views illustrate the great diversity and polymorphism within the genus and between species.

Phytochemistry

The root-bark of '' D. illinoensis'', which accounts for half of the total weight of the root system, is reported to contain anywhere from 0 to 0.34%

DMT ''N'',''N''-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT or ''N'',''N''-DMT, SPL026) is a substituted tryptamine that occurs in many plants and animals, including human beings, and which is both a derivative and a structural analog of tryptamine. It is used as a ...

and 0.11%

N-Methyltryptamine ''N''-Methyltryptamine (NMT) is a member of the substituted tryptamine chemical class and a natural product which is biosynthesized in the human body from tryptamine by certain N-methyltransferase enzymes, such as indolethylamine ''N''-methyltra ...

. Alkaloid content is highly variable in this species. Likewise, root bark of ''

Desmanthus leptolobus ''Desmanthus leptolobus'', known as prairie mimosa, prairie bundleflower or slenderlobe bundleflower, is a flowering plant of the genus ''Desmanthus''. It is native to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and has spread to Missouri and New Mexico. It is ...

'' has been found to contain N,N-DMT and related tryptamines. While its only reported quantitative analysis was 0.14% (Appleseed), all instances of co-occurrence with ''D. illinoensis'' showed it to be noticeably stronger than ''D. illinoensis'', according to co- thin layer chromatography of the root bark.Ayahuasca: alkaloids, plants & analogs: assembled by Keeper of the Trout
/ref>

Uses

During the 1990s in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, three species of ''Desmanthus'' were released as pasture legumes and many other accessions are being evaluated as pasture species for clay soils. The three old released cultivars are: * ''

Desmanthus virgatus ''Desmanthus virgatus'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family that is known by many common names, including wild tantan, prostrate bundleflower, dwarf koa, desmanto, acacia courant, acacia savane, pompon blank,Francis, J. K., Ed'' ...

'' Cultivar "Marc"(Accession number: CPI 78373) which is described as early flowering, decumbent to ascending, growing 30 to 60 cm tall and originates from Argentina. * '' Desmanthus leptophyllus'' Cultivar "Bayamo" (CPI 82285), mid season flowering, ascending type, 95–135 cm tall, from Cuba * ''

Desmanthus pubescens ''Desmanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the pea family, Fabaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words δεσμός (''desmos''), meaning "bundle", and ἄνθος (''anthos'' ...

'' Cultivar "Uman" (CPI 92803), late flowering, decumbent shrub, taller and wider spreading than Marc, 40–100 cm tall, from Mexico. Of these three, only the cultivar Marc is still commercially available. In 2015 five new cultivars of Desmanthus named JCU 1 to JCU 5 have been granted PBR and are commercially available as a blend named "Progardes", consisting of '' D. bicornutus'', ''D. leptophyllus'' and ''D. virgatus'', these have been developed in Queensland Australia as a pasture legume for semi-arid tropical/subtropical alkaline clay soils. Progardes became available in 2013 in Northern Australia and some 35,000 to 50,000 ha has been already sown into native and

buffelgrass ''Cenchrus ciliaris'' (buffel-grass or African foxtail grass; syn. ''Pennisetum ciliare'' (L.) Link) is a species of grass native to most of Africa, southern Asia (east to India), southern Iran, and the extreme south of Europe (Sicily). Other nam ...

pasture. In recent times additional cultivars have seen developed including cv JCU 6,7,8 and 9. These can also be included in the Progardes blend. The breeding of intraspecific and interspecific crosses are well advanced. In terms of animal production Progardes has been to shown to enhance beef production. In its native range in the United States, the

Land Institute The Land Institute is an American nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated fo ...

is selectively breeding the widely distributed Illinois bundleflower (''

Desmanthus illinoensis ''Desmanthus illinoensis'', commonly known as Illinois bundleflower, prairie-mimosa or prickleweed, is a common plant in many areas of the south central and Midwestern US. Habitat It can often be found growing on the sides of roads, needing fu ...

'') to be a perennial seed crop for human food, in addition to forage / pasture. It offers many of the advantages in terms of nutrition, protein and nitrogen fixation as

soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

, but as a perennial. Perennial crops tend to require less input of chemicals and energy, and less weed control, for comparable or higher yields to annuals in many systems.

Species

References

External links