Common name: Tropical sensitive pea. Tamil name: Edikkol, Karunganam.
Small herb grows to around 2 feet in height. The plant has a coarse/rough rusty stem with glandular hairs. The plant has large geographical presence, mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical areas. However, i saw them mostly in fridges of deciduous forest areas around Wester ghats. The leafs are single compound with generally 2 pairs (arranged in opposite manner) of leaflets: sometimes 3 pairs. Small paired lanceolate stipules are seen at the base of the leaf and they measure around 3 mm. The leafs are arranged alternatively. The leaf stalk is rusty and hairy and measure around 3.4 cm in length. The sessile leaflets are rhombic-ovate, with a cuneate base and an acute tip. The leaflets measure around 3 cm in length. The inflorescence is in the form of an short axillary raceme. The bisexual flowers are yellow with steaks of red. The fruit is in the form of a flat pod and measure around 6 cm in length. Tropical sensitive pea is a useful plant with finding applications in traditional medicinal systems, manufacture of yellow dye and as a cover crop which enhances soil health via nitrogen fixation.
