Pega-pega. Beggarlice
Desmodium intortum

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A long-lived prostrate, scrambling vine with stems up to 1.5 m long with a strong taproot. Occasionally a semi-upright shrubby plant growing 0.5m tall.

Desmodium intortum is an evergreen Perennial growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 1.5

Where it is found

A weed of riparian vegetation, forest margins, open wooodlands, roadsides, disturbed sites and waste areas.

Mesoamerica. Native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

Conservation Status: Status: Least Concern

Countries/locations it is found in

Native to:Mesoamerica: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama. Caribbean: Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico. South America: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and in a restricted area of Brazil between 18 and 25°S. Now naturalised in small areas of higher altitude tropics and the humid subtropics .

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 3

Long-term and irrigated pastures for hay and silage - provides good standover feed during autumn and winter in frost-free areas. Very palatable and tends to be heavily grazed. Cut-and-carry systems, and as ground cover. DM yields range from 12 to 19 t/ha/year, which is higher than silverleaf desmodium (7-9 t DM/ha/year). Better yields are obtained with longer cutting intervals of 30-85 days . A good groundcover covering the soil in 4 months. It has been used as ground cover on coffee plantations. Carbon Farming Solutions - Agroforestry Services: nitrogen, understory legume. Fodder: pasture (Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland).

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Agroforestry Services: Contour hedgerow: Alley cropping systems on the contour of slopes.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Agroforestry Services: Understory legume: Legume vegetation, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor.

Fodder: Pasture: Enclosed tracts of farmland mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs (non-grass herbaceous plants).

Management: Fodder: Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.

Agroforestry Services: Contour hedgerow: Alley cropping systems on the contour of slopes.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Agroforestry Services: Understory legume: Legume vegetation, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor.

Fodder: Pasture: Enclosed tracts of farmland mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs (non-grass herbaceous plants).

Management: Fodder: Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

How it is grown

Climate: tropical, tropical highlands. Humidity: semi-arid to humid. Desmodium intortum will grow on a wider range of soils than will D. uncinatum, from sands, light loams to medium clays, but prefers moderate fertility and pH above 5.0. Not tolerant of salinity or high Al and Mn. Requires >900mm rainfall with a moderate dry season of less than 6 months, but will grow under much wetter conditions (>3,000 mm). Tolerance to waterlogging or flooding is better than D. uncinatum . Withstands hot weather better than D. uncinatum. Frost-susceptible. Optimum growth at 30/25°C ±3°C. Good shade tolerance. Carbon Farming Solutions - Cultivation: minor global crop. Management: fodder (Describes the non-destructive management systems that are used in cultivation).

Propagating it: Seed germinates quickly (3-4 days) without scarification.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

Can be invasive in all it's growing areas. Regarded as an environmental weed in Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia. It is mainly of concern in riparian vegetation, due to its shade tolerance and its ability to climb over other plants. This species was recently ranked among the 200 most invasive plants in south-eastern Queensland.

Its other names

Local names

Greenleaf desmodium, Beggarlice, Greenleaf tick trefoil, Tickclover; Grünes desmodium (German); Pega pega, Amor seco, Desmodio verde (Spanish); Desmodie (French); Karikuy-ritkuk (Philippines); Thua kleen leap (Thailand).

Synonyms

Desmodium galapagense B.L. Rob. Desmodium hjalmarsonii (Schindl.) Standl. Desmodium trigonum DC. Desmodium sinclairii Benth. Desmodium trigonum DC. Hedysarum intortum Mill. Hedysarum trigonum Sw. Meibomia intorta (Mill.) S.F.Blake. Meibomia trigona F.W.Gandara. Meibomia hjalmarsonii Schindl.