Heen Undupiyaliya (හීන් උඳුපියලිය) Desmodium triflorum

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Common name - Heenundupiyaliya
Botanical name - Desmodium triflorum
Family             - Fabaceae
Life cycle             - Perennial

Morphology

• A small prostrate annual or perennial legume with a woody taproot.
• Strongly branched stems to 50 cm frequently rooting at the nodes to form a mat.
• Trifoliate leaves with leaflets up to 12 mm long and 10 mm wide.
• Inflorescence with a cluster of 1–3 pink to purple flowers in leaf axils.
• Pods flat, segmented, 6–18 mm long and 2–3.5 mm wide with 3–5 articles, and covered with minute hooked hairs. Pods break up into segments when ripe.  
• Seed quadrangular to orbicular ca. 1.2 x 1.7 mm.

Propagation 

• Propagation is mainly by seeds & cuttings.

Agricultural usage/ importance 

• A naturalized component of short (grazed) native and sown pastures, where it can form up to 50% of the herbage.  Creeping mat can provide good ground cover during the wet season, especially in mown or closely cut uses such as under plantation crops and in lawns.
• Given to children to treat diarrhea due to indigestion and also in convulsions. Expressed juice from a well macerated plant, is applied to abscesses and wounds that do not heal readity.

Control method

• Pre-emergence prometryne alone or with simazine, alachlor plus 2, 4-D, diuron or fluometuron plus surfactant (seedlings). Foliar treatment with 2, 4-D or 2, 4, 5-T should be effective.