Dancing grass or plant Desmodium

Plants are often called grass dancing or Latin name Desmodium heterophyllum (Willd.) has been world renowned because of its uniqueness. Often dubbed the semaphore grass, because it has a motion like a semaphore.



 

Annual plant with creeping stems that strong. Stolon plants become woody with age and the practical slippery. Height rarely exceeds 15-20 inches. Leaves form a three-leaf (tifoliate) with the leaf tip (15-20 mm length and width of 10-15 millimeters) larger than the lateral leaves (12-15 millimeters in length and width of 80-10 millimeters). Flowers small (3-5 millimeters long), pink, 3-6 pods continuous support, which will break the connection when ripe. Pods 12-25 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, finely hairy. Shaped like a kidney bean from 2.25 to 2.50 millimeters in length and width from 1.50 to 1.75 and golden brown. 

Grows in various soil types ranging from sand to clay soil. Very efficient in utilizing phosphorus from the soil is not fertile and will be resistant to low pH and high Al. These plants are not salt-resistantRequires a rainfall of at least 1500 mm, and up to 4000 mm average annual rainfall. Hetero (Desmodium heterophyllum) is not drought tolerant but will survive the dry season is up for 5 months. Will tahahn to waterlogging and flooding the short term. Warm season tropical legume that can not stand freezing temperatures. 

Very shade-tolerant and often found growing under the canopy of shrubs on natural pasture. This plant can survive on pasture is grazed by both under coconut plantation and production is not much affected in 50% of sunlight intensity compared with many other tropical legumes. 

These plants flower and produce seed in a long time. Each segment pods will burst when cooking so that seed production is difficult. Very tolerant of heavy grazing caused by very many branches that form roots on the stem of each book, and will grow to spread in these conditions. Difficult harvested on cutting transport system caused by the condition of his life that propagate. 

Can be planted from seed, but are very rarely available in the commercial market, which is very difficult due to harvesting. Almost all plants propagated by stolon pieces of roots and stems are planted in wet soil where the plants will spread quickly because of the nature of the growth of the unbranched and unfruitful. Cattle will spread the seeds through manure (feces) and through the pod that will split and attached to the animal fur.


In this blog is available other unique plants that will certainly add to our insights about ornamental plants and flowers To find the other unique plants, please click on previous articles.