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Leguminosae
Description
Upright herbaceous perennial plant growing 2 m high, becoming
woody at the base; well branched; leaves oval to oblong, pointed; inflorescence
broomlike, hairy. Pods of one to six ovate segments (Pittier, 1944).
Distribution
Occurs in Venezuela, but is not common.
Characteristics
In Zambia during the rainy season it produced a massive crop
of fodder of 7 355 kg. dry matter per hectare. It produced a very useful
secondary growth between March and June and continued to grow during the
latter part of the dry season.
Palatability
In spite of its stemmy nature and coarse appearance, it is
relished by cattle and even much of the stem is eaten.
Owing to its stemmy growth habit, this species is not very suitable
for inclusion in grass-legume pastures, but it is a very promising fodder
plant for specialized use (van Rensburg, 1967). Horrell (1963) reported
that it seeded well at Serere (Uganda) and was a possible fodder plant
for that area. In Tanzania, it remained green well into the dry season
and was relished by cattle (Tanzania, 1955). Early growth was slow.
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