Desmodium elegans LC Taxonomic Authority: DC. Global Assessment Regional Assessment Region: Global Endemic to region Synonyms Common Names Desmodium cinerasc Franch. RATO BAKHRE GHANS Nepali Desmodium handelii Schindl. Desmodium tiliifolium (D. Don) G. Don Hedysarum tiliifolium D. Don Meibomia tiliifolia (D. Don) Kuntze Upper Level Taxonomy Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: MAGNOLIOPSIDA Order: FABALES Family: LEGUMINOSAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name: Plant Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority: General Information Distribution Species widely distributed in temperate Asia, from China to Afghanistan, Bhutan, north eastern and south western India, Kashmir, Nepal and Pakistan. Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: Upper limit: 4000 Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: Lower limit: 1000 Antarctic Map Status: Depth Australasian Upper limit: Neotropical Lower limit: Oceanian Depth Zones Palearctic Shallow photic Bathyl Hadal Indomalayan Photic Abyssal Nearctic Population The population size of the species is not known. Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: Maximum Population Size: Habitat and Ecology Desmodium elegans is a shrub which occurs in forest margins, forests, thickets, mountain slopes, rocky places, roadsides and ditches. Reported from dry grassy slopes in glades in deodar forests to 2700 meters (Gamble 1922). System Movement pattern Crop Wild Relative Terrestrial Freshwater Nomadic Congregatory/Dispersive Is the species a wild relative of a crop? Marine Migratory Altitudinally migrant Growth From Definition Shrub - size unkno Perennial shrub (any size), also termed a Phanerophyte if >1m or a Chamaephyte if <1m Threats There are no known major threats to this species. Past Present Future 13 None Conservation Measures It is known to occur in protected areas such as Canchengunja Conservation Area in Nepal and it has also been reported from Toorsa-Jigme Dorji Corridor, which links two adjacent protected areas, Toorsa Strict Nature Reserve, Jigme Dorji National Park, also in Nepal. Seeds have been collected as part of the Millennium Seed Bank project and by the US National Plant Germplasm System. It is known to occur in six Botanical Gardens. Cited on the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) Conservation Portal, which is part of the The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD. In Place Needed 3 Research actions 3.5 Threats 3.9 Trends/Monitoring 4 Habitat and site-based actions 4.3 Corridors 4.4 Protected areas 5 Species-based actions 5.7 Ex situ conservation actions 5.7.2 Genome resource bank 5.8 Other Countries of Occurrence PRESENCE ORIGIN Year Breeding Non- Passage Possibly Extinct Presence Native Introduced Re- Vagrant Origin Round Season breeding migrant extinct uncertain Introduced uncertain only season only Afghanistan Bhutan China Gansu Guangdong - Hainan Guizhou Hubei Shaanxi Sichuan Tibet Yunnan India Himachal Pradesh Jammu-Kashmir Nepal Pakistan General Habitats Score Description Major Importance 1 Forest 1 Suitable Unset 1.4 Forest - Temperate 1 Suitable Unset 3 Shrubland 1 Suitable Unset 4 Grassland 1 Suitable Unset 6 Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) 1 Suitable Unset 14 Artificial/Terrestrial 1 Suitable Unset 15 Artificial/Aquatic & Marine 1 Suitable Unset 15.9 Artificial/Aquatic - Canals and Drainage Channels, Ditches 1 Suitable Unset Species Utilisation Species is not utilised at all Purpose / Type of Use Subsistence National International 3. Medicine - human and veterinary 7. Fuel 8. Fibre The roots are carminative, diuretic and tonic (Manandhar 2002), they are used in the treatment of bilious complaints (Chopra et al. 1956).The juice of the root, sometimes combined with the bark juice of Bauhinia malabarica, is used in the treatment of cholera and the juice of the bark is used in the treatment of peptic ulcers (Manandhar 2002). A fibre from the bark is used for ropes and paper making and the wood is a good fuel (Gamble 1922). Trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years: Unknown Trend in the amount of offtake/harvest produced through domestication/cultivation over the last five years: Unknown CITES status: Not listed IUCN Red Listing IUCN Red Listing Red List Assessment: (using 2001 IUCN system) Least Concern (LC) Red List Criteria: Date Last Seen (only for EX, EW or Possibly EX species): Is the species Possibly Extinct? Possibly Extinct Candidate? Rationale for the Red List Assessment D. elegans is listed as Least Concern. It has a wide range, it is known to occur in protected areas and the population is believed to be stable at present. Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment: Genuine Change Nongenuine Change No Change Genuine (recent) New information Taxonomy Same category Genuine (since first assessment) Knowledge of Criteria Criteria Revisio and criteria Incorrect data used Other Same category but previously change in criteria Current Population Trend: Stable Date of Assessment: 22/07/2010 Name(s) of the Assessor(s): Lopez, L. Evaluator(s): Notes: % population decline in the past: Time period over which the past decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): % population decline in the future: Time period over which the future decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): Number of Locations: Severely Fragmented: Number of Mature Individuals: Bibliography Chettri, N., Shakya, B., Bajracharya, B., Dongol, B., Pradhan, S., Acharya, R., Joshi, R.M., Tandukar, D., Sharma, E., Murray, B. and Sellars, S., 2010, Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) Conservation Portal, , , Chopra, R.N., Nayar, S.L., and Chopra, I.C., 1956, Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants, , , Gamble, J.S., 1922, A manual of Indian timbers: an account of the growth, distribution, and uses of the trees and shrubs of India and Ceylon, with descriptions of their wood- structure, , , Manandhar, N.P., 2002, Plants and People of Nepal, , Timber Press, Inc., USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, 2010, Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN)16 June, , National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, Wu, Z.Y., Raven, P.H. and Hong, D.Y., 2010, Flora of China, , Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis., .