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Leguminosae
Synonyms
Codariocalyx gyroides.
Description
Erect, often much-branched shrub growing from 1 to 2.5 m. Rachises
of the inflorescence and top of stem clothed with long hairs; terminal
leaflet oval to oblong obovate, 3.5 to 7.5 cm long x 1.75 to 5 cm broad;
corolla light pink at first, turning to violet pink, and afterwards light
lilac or bluish lilac. Pod densely clothed with long hairs, 2.5 to 4.75
cm long, 5- to 13-seeded (Backer and van den Brink, 1963). Chromosome number
2n = 22.
Distribution
Indonesia.
Characteristics
Bryan (1966) reported that the plant retained its leaves in
winter in Queensland, Australia. The lower half of the plant is deciduous
if ungrazed, but under a system of grazing that maintains the whole plant
within reach of the grazing animal, it is deciduous. Plants have persisted
under grazing for five years.
It is unaffected by high water-tables and poor drainage. Roberts (personal
communication) says that it is better suited to wet conditions than leucaena
in Fiji; cattle browse the leaf down the stem without taking much stem.
Bryan stated that it did not have a high requirement for Ca or Mg.
He envisaged its chief use as a high-protein feed saved for autumn and
winter in Queensland and browsed to control it at other times of the year.
In midwinter 1965, a typical 18-month-old stand, 165 cm high, yielded 1
980 kg. of edible dry matter per hectare containing 3.1 percent N, equivalent
to 385 kg./ha of protein.
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