Hedysarum triflorum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 749. 1753; Des­modium triflorum var. adpressum Ohwi.

Herbs, perennial, prostrate, 10-50 cm tall, spreading pu­bescent. Leaves 3-foliolate; petiole ca. 5 mm; terminal leaflet blade obcordate, obtriangular, or obovate, 2.5-10 × 2.5-10 mm, base cuneate, apex truncate, slightly emarginate. Flowers soli-tary or 2 or 3 in leaf axils. Pedicel 3-8 mm, elongated to 1.3 cm at fruiting. Calyx densely villous, 5-parted; lobes narrowly lan-ceolate, longer than tube. Corolla purple-red, nearly as long as calyx; standard obcordate, base attenuate, long clawed; wings elliptic, shortly clawed; keel slightly falcate, longer than wings, curved, long clawed. Stamens diadelphous. Legume narrowly oblong, slightly falcate, flat, 5-12 × ca. 2.5 mm, lower suture undulate, upper suture straight, 3-5-jointed; articles nearly quad­rate, with short, hooked hairs, reticulate veined. Fl. and fr. Jun-Oct. 2n = 22.

The whole plant is used medicinally for inducing sweat and pro­moting digestion.

Wastelands, grasslands, roadsides, riversides, sandy soils; 200-600 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; tropics of Africa, Americas, SW Asia, Australia, Pacific islands].