Taxon: Desmodium distortum (Aubl.) J. F. Macbr.

Summary

Genus:

Desmodium

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Desmodieae

Subtribe:

Desmodiinae

Nomen number:

13628

Place of publication:

Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 8:101. 1930

Verified:

02/21/1987 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

26 (18 active, 18 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Hedysarum distortum Aubl.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Desmodium asperum (Poir.) Desv.
Hedysarum asperum Poir.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource). Note: accessed September 2022
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Lewis, G. P. 1987. Legumes of Bahia
Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. 1936-. Flora of Peru Note: 1936-1971; new ser. 1980-
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
Missouri Botanical Garden. W³Tropicos (on-line resource).
National Academy of Sciences. 1979. Tropical legumes: resources for the future
Ohashi, H. & K. Ohashi. 2019. Desmodium (Leguminosae Tribe Desmodieae) of Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. J. Jap. Bot. 94:135-148. Note: introduced from America
Pittier, H. F. et al. 1945-1947. Catálogo de la flora venezolana.
Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Verdcourt, B. 1979. A manual of New Guinea legumes. Note: cultivated
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.

Common names

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Zacatecas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource). Note: accessed September 2022
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina	Formosa		Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru
4	Naturalized					natzd. elsewhere

Native
Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Sonora, Zacatecas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Cuba
CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina [Formosa]

Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)

Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource). Note: accessed September 2022
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder	potential	National Academy of Sciences. 1979. Tropical legumes: resources for the future

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=13628. Accessed 12 May 2026.