Description: English: Introduced, warm-season, perennial, twining, tropical legume. Stems are covered in white hairs and can root at the nodes. Leaves have 3 leaflets, which are sparsely hairy above and silvery hairy below. The lateral leaflets have a distinct lobe (like a mitten). Flowerheads are racemes of 6-12 dark purple-red, pea-like flowers. Pods are 5-10 cm long, hairy and straight. Flowering is in late summer and autumn. A native of the Americas, it is sown for grazing and commonly naturalized. It is susceptible to heavy frosts and best suited to moderately fertile, acid and well-drained soils. Available varieties are Siratro and Aztec. Tolerates drier conditions and poorer soils than Glycine or Greenleaf Desmodium, and is easier to establish. Provides high quality non-bloating feed over the warmer months and is useful as a standover feed to help fill late autumn/winter feed gaps. It is susceptible to continuous grazing, needing appropriate spells between grazing. Remove stock when there is still plenty of stem and some leaf (at least 15 cm height) to maximise persistence and production. The more leaf left on the plant, the faster the regrowth. Persistence is aided by maintaining reasonable soil phosphorus levels and allowing a good seedset every few years. Date: 15 March 2010, 13:13. Source:
Macroptilium atropurpureum plant3. Author:
Harry Rose from South West Rocks, Australia.
