7. Cajanus scarabaeoides (Linnaeus) Thouars, Dict. Sci. Nat. 6: 617. 1817.
蔓草虫豆 man cao chong dou
Dolichos scarabaeoides Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 720. 1753; Atylosia pauciflora (Wight & Arnott) Druce; A. scarabaeoides (Linnaeus) Bentham; A. scarabaeoides var. argyrophyllus Y. T. Wei & S. K. Lee; Cajanus scarabaeoides var. argyrophyllus (Y. T. Wei & S. K. Lee) Y. T. Wei & S. K. Lee; Cantharospermum pauciflorum Wight & Arnott; C. scarabaeoides (Linnaeus) Baillon; Dolichos medicagineus Roxburgh; D. minutus Wight & Arnott; Rhynchosia biflora Candolle; R. scarabaeoides (Linnaeus) Candolle; Stizolobium scarabaeoides (Linnaeus) Sprengel.
Vines, woody, twining or trailing, to 2 m. Stems slender, ± pubescent. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; stipules small, ovate, hairy, usually deciduous; petiole 1-2 cm; stipels absent; petiolules extremely short; leaflets papery or nearly leathery, with glandular spots, sparsely pubescent on both surfaces, denser abaxially, basal veins 3, obviously convex below; terminal leaflet elliptic or obovate-elliptic to obovate, 1.2-4 × 0.8-1.5(-3) cm, apex obtuse or rounded; lateral leaflets smaller, obliquely elliptic to obliquely obovate. Raceme axillary, usually less than 2 cm, 1-5-flowered; peduncle 2-5 mm, densely brown to dull brown villous. Calyx campanulate, 5-lobed, or 4-lobed with upper 2 incompletely connate; lobes linear-lanceolate. Corolla yellow, ca. 1 cm, usually deciduous; standard obovate, with emarginate auricle and claw at base; wings narrowly elliptic, slightly curved, base auriculate; keels curved at apex, densely very pale brown villous. Ovules several. Legume oblong, 1.5-2.5 × 0.4-0.6 cm, leathery, densely villous, transversely constricted between seeds. Seeds 2-7, dark brown, ellipsoidal, ca. 4 mm; strophiole convex. Fl. Sep-Nov, fr. Oct-Dec.
Fields, roadsides, grassy slopes, seasides; below 100-1500 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; Africa, Oceania].
The roots of Cajanus scarabaeoides are used medicinally.
