General characteristics of the desmodium, advice on agricultural technology, advice on breeding the "green telegraph", pest and disease control, interesting facts, species. Desmodium (Desmodium) belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae) and the subfamily Papilionoideae, or as it is also called Faboideae. All representatives of this subfamily are flowering plants, the number of species of which varies from 12,000 to 18,000 units, and this particular specimen is known to be up to 450 varieties. The biggest distinguishing feature for all specimens of the moth flora is that they have a moth corolla. More precisely:
- there is an upper petal (sail or flag), the largest in size and with a brighter color;
- two petals located on the sides of the top are called oars or wings;
- a pair of lower petals, which are usually spliced or stuck together with edges in their upper part, bear the names of a boat or keel (inside them there are stamens and gynoecium).
Most often, desmodium can be found on the lands of Asia (which include Taiwan, Cambodia, China and India, as well as Bangladesh, Malaysia and Vietnam), this plant is not uncommon in the southeastern regions of the United States.
The height of a plant under conditions of natural growth can reach 2 meters, but with indoor cultivation the parameters are much more modest (only 120 cm). The form of growth is bushy with many stems. Desmodium reaches its maximum height in one season of its growth, and its branches stretch up to 1–1.5 m during this time. Perennial, but over time, its decorativeness decreases and it is recommended to rejuvenate after 2–3 seasons. There is also a thickened rhizome, woody, the shape of the root system is pivotal.
The stem grows upright, has a large number of edges with sufficient branching, is painted in a gray-green color. The leaf plates are attached to the branches by means of petioles up to 2.5 cm long. The arrangement of the leaves is alternate, their surface is covered with pubescence, the edge is solid, there are several stipules. The leaf is broadly lanceolate in shape, the foliage at the top is slightly larger than the lateral leaf plates. Sizes in length can reach a maximum of 5 cm with a width of up to 3 cm. The leaves themselves are 1-3 leafy.
It was for these leaf plates that the plant received quite interesting names among the people - "dancing plant", "telegraph". All this is due to the fact that in very strong bright lighting, the side leaves begin to move in a certain way, as if they were dancing or a telegraphic message was being transmitted. In just half a minute, the side leaves with their tops are able to describe a complete ellipse, and this rotation has a jerky character, like writing in Morse code. And unlike similar plants (for example, mimosas), which can simply fold or wiggle their leaves when touched or hit by raindrops, the Desmodium "moves in a dance" constantly, without ceasing. And only at night the process stops, waiting for the sunrise.
However, it was noticed that during dry periods, the "telegraph plant" stops transmitting its messages, since there is no moisture left in the leaves and the pressure of the liquid inside drops too much. If there is no rain for a long time or the owner forgot to moisten the soil, then the “dancing tree” also freezes. This can serve as a signal for watering, and when the plant becomes ill, then its "dance" stops.
From the flowers of the desmodium, peculiar carpal inflorescences are collected. Their size is small and they are located at the tops of the branches. The color of the petals of the buds can be blue, purple or purple. After the flowers wither, rafts - beans - ripen. They are articulated with a smooth surface or slightly covered with a thin downy. There are varieties in which the beans have the property of expanding into several segments, their number varies from 3 to 6 units.
It doesn't take too much effort to grow Desmodium, as it is considered a weed in the wild.
Agrotechnics when growing desmodium
- Lighting and location selection. The illumination level must be selected in such a way that it is not too much and not too little. If the plant is planted in open ground, then a place with an openwork shadow from the crowns of trees is best suited; in the conditions of rooms, you can put the pot on the windowsills of windows facing east or west. When exposed to direct sunlight on the south side, the leaves of the Desmodium will begin to turn yellow and curl, and when the light level is low, the plant will stretch out strongly and lose its beauty.
- Temperature when caring for the desmodium indoors, it can fluctuate between 23-30 degrees, but with the arrival of autumn, the heat indices can be reduced up to 15 degrees, but not lower. If the plant is grown in a garden, then shelter for the winter is not required (in suitable climatic conditions), it can perfectly survive small short-term drops in temperature.
- Watering desmodium. It is necessary to moisten the soil in the spring-summer period, with indoor growing, once every 3 days. It should always be slightly damp, but the liquid should not be allowed to stagnate. It must be remembered that overdrying threatens with foliage dumping and disease for the "telegraph plant". In the winter period, watering is greatly reduced, they only make sure that the soil does not dry out. Water for humidification is taken from the river or rain. In the conditions of the rooms, it is necessary to boil and defend tap water.
- Air humidity when growing "telegraph" should not fall below 60%. For this, foliar spraying is used, as well as the installation of mechanical humidifiers, for home maintenance. There is a way to raise the humidity level by placing a flowerpot with a plant in a deep tray on moistened expanded clay or pebbles (you can use broken shards). It is only important to make sure that the bottom of the pot does not touch the edge of the liquid, otherwise it can lead to decay of the root system and the defeat of the entire plant by putrefactive processes.
- Fertilizers for desmodium. With the arrival of spring and until autumn, you need to feed the "dancing tree". Liquid preparations are used for decorative deciduous indoor plants, the bush also responds well to organic matter.
- Transplant "plant-telegraph" carried out as needed. The soil does not play a special role, but still you should not choose too heavy a substrate. The soil mixture is made independently from perlite, peat soil, greenhouse soil, manure and river sand. The acidity of the soil is maintained around pH = 6. Before pouring soil onto the bottom, a layer of drainage material is placed in the pot, and holes must be made in the bottom to drain excess moisture.
Recommendations for self-propagation of desmodium
Basically, the reproduction of the "dancing tree" is carried out by sowing seed material. Since the seeds are very small, it is recommended to soak them in warm water for 4–5 hours before sowing. Then a peat-sand substrate (or a mixture of peat and perlite) is poured into the container. Grooves are made on its surface, the depth of which is no more than 5 cm, with a distance between them up to 30 cm. The seeds are distributed in the grooves and sprinkled with soil so that its layer is 1 cm. The container must be covered with cling film or a piece of glass, put in a warm place, with a temperature of about 25 degrees and diffused lighting. The sprouts will appear after 2 weeks. It is required not to forget to ventilate and moisten the soil. When a pair of feathery leaves is formed on the seedlings, then a pick is made in separate pots and at first it is better to put them under a plastic bag until the plant is sufficiently strong.
There is also a method for dividing the rhizome during transplantation. When the mother plant is removed, an incision is made with a sharpened knife (only the parts should not be too small). Then they are planted in prepared pots with a suitable substrate, and the delenki are placed in a shaded place until signs of successful rooting appear.
If propagation is carried out using cuttings, then this action begins at the end of summer.
Difficulties in cultivating Desmodium and ways to solve them
Aphids and spider mites deliver the most trouble to the plant, it is when the growing conditions are violated that these pests settle on the leaves of the "telegraph plant". If yellowing of the leaves and their deformation, black and green small bugs or a cobweb enveloping the foliage and internodes were noticed, then insecticidal treatment will be required.
If the plant is planted in poorly drained soil, then fungal diseases are also possible, which occur with excessive watering. We'll have to treat it with fungicidal agents and transplant the Desmodium into a new soil and pot.
Interesting facts about Desmodium
At the end of the 20th century, experimental work was carried out on the treatment of animals with drugs based on desmodium, as a result of which the properties of the plant were confirmed as an antiallergen, remover of seizures and has hepatoprotective properties. Therefore, this remedy has long been known to folk healers among the tribes of Africa and Latin America.
Since there is a strong restorative property of the "telegraph plant", which allows the regeneration of liver tissues and cells, preparations based on it are used when there is a need to restore liver functions, if it was intoxicated, in the case of viral, alcoholic or drug exposure.
A drug called Helepin D (in the form of a dry extract), which has antiviral, analgesic and also anti-inflammatory properties, is obtained from the grass of the “dancing tree”. Often because of this, the plant is used to relieve rheumatic pains, and its symptoms in the back and joints, and it also helps to increase immunity.
Types of desmodium
- Desmodium canadens (Desmodium canadens) is a perennial with a herbaceous form of growth, reaching 70–120 cm in height. Up to 10 flowering branches are formed in it during the growing season. The stems of a plant with a longitudinal-grooved surface, reach 7 mm in thickness, they have a rough pubescence, a grayish-green color. The leaf plates are arranged alternately, in shape they are triple-complex, with stipules of lanceolate outlines, leathery and not falling off. If you carefully consider the leaf plate, then you can clearly see the cells of the epidermis, the walls of which have sinuous contours, the stomata are multiple of the anomocytic, in rare cases of the paracytic type. The flowers are small, moth-like. The color of the petals is bluish-purple, from which racemose inflorescences are collected, originating in the leaf axils. The fruit that emerges after flowering is in the shape of a bean with a leathery surface, flat and with 4-5 segments that open when ripe.
- Rotating Desmodium (Desmodium gyrans) it is he who is called the Telegraph tree. An evergreen perennial plant with a semi-shrub or herbaceous form of growth can reach 1.2 meters in height. The leaf plates are trifoliate, with elliptical-oblong contours. The leaves located at the tops of the branches are several times larger than those on the sides, they are also drooping with short petioles. Stipules are elongated, pointed. Small flowers with brownish-yellow color. When the light level is high enough, the side leaves begin to make rotational movements resembling a semicircle, they are jerky and lean downward. In the evening and at night, this movement stops until sunrise.
- Desmodium Manchurian (Desmodium mandschuricum). The plant is a perennial in which the stem grows either straight up or is raised. Its height reaches 70–80 cm. The leaf plates are trifoliate, with petioles and with a crowded arrangement in the middle part of the stem. Leaf lobes are entire-edged, with oblong-ovate outlines, even somewhere diamond-shaped. The color of the upper part is green, and the lower part is slightly paler. The leaflets, placed on the sides with a slight asymmetry, are slightly elongated, obtuse at the apex. The parameters are 7–9 cm long and up to 2–5 cm wide. There are cilia along the edge. An elongated inflorescence crowns the ends of the branches, it is made up of small flowers with a pink color, they have short pedicels. The corolla of the bud is pinkish, reaching 0.4 mm in length, the marigolds are whitish. The flowering process takes place from mid to late summer. When ripe, a bean appears with a flat shape and smooth surface.
- Desmodium oldhama. A rather rare variety that grows on the territory of the sandy peninsula, in the vicinity of the cities of Ussuriisk and Vladivostok, while it can settle on the northern borders of this area. It prefers to settle in oak forests, on stony soils in bushy thickets. Rhizome with powerful contours, woody. The stem can reach a height of 130 cm, growing upright, with simple and strong outlines. Leaf plates with an odd-pinnate shape, the number of leaf lobes is 7 units, they reach 14 cm in length and up to 5.5 cm in width. At the base, the leaves are wedge-shaped, at the top there is an elongation, the edge is ciliate. Stipules with a narrow-lanceolate shape in length reaching 0.8 cm. The inflorescence is located at the ends of the branches, consists of many buds, branched, up to 35 cm long. Peduncles and pedicels have dense pubescence. The length of the styloid bracts reaches 0.8 cm. The flowering process occurs in July-August. When the fruit ripens, a pod appears, with drooping outlines, single-membered, flatish, its entire surface is covered with shiny short hairs with a bend.
- Desmodium lipolytic (Desmodium tiliifolium). It grows in China and the Himalayas. A semi-shrub plant with upright stems, reaching a height of one and a half meters. The leaf plates are trifoliate, measuring 25 cm in length. The leaf lobes are obovate, with a dark green color, their reverse side is gray, covered with villi. The paniculate inflorescences reach a length of 20 cm, the terminal ones, composed of flowers with a purple or deep pink tint, the buds are very reminiscent of sweet pea flowers.
- Desmodium yunnanens. It is a powerful plant with a shrubby form of growth, reaching 4 meters in height and width. Leaf plates with a light green color, with length parameters ranging from 10–20 cm, on the reverse side there is a gray-green pubescence. The entire plate consists of one wide-oval central leaf, and a pair of small leaf lobes are located on the sides. Occasionally, these lateral leaves are reduced into one upper central leaf of a large size. Inflorescences are terminal, paniculate, their length is about 20 cm. They are made up of purple-colored flowers that look like sweet pea buds.
What the desmodium looks like, see this video:
