Legumes, Milkworts, and Allies of Zihuatanejo

ORDER FABALES

-Legumes (Family Fabaceae)

-Subfamily Faboideae

-Tribe Phaseoleae

-Subtribe Glycininae

-Genus Calopogonium

-Calopogonium mucunoides

Calopogonium mucunoides is a short-lived, vigorous, creeping, twining or trailing herb, that can send out stems up to several metres long and form a tangled mass of foliage 30 - 50 cm deep. C. mucunoides is native to tropical America, from Mexico to Argentina, and to some islands in the West Indies. t is especially common in disturbed areas, forest edges, along roadsides and waterways and in agricultural lands where it grows as a weed.

Description

• Calopogonium mucunoides, commonly known as calopo or calopo vine, is a vigorous, hairy, trailing or climbing annual to short-lived perennial vine in the legume family (Fabaceae). Its compound leaves consist of three broad, oval leaflets, and its small flowers are typically pinkish-purple to bluish-purple, growing in clusters. The plant produces flattened, hairy seed pods. Like other legumes, it can form associations with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil.

Range

• Calopogonium mucunoides is native to tropical America but has been introduced widely throughout the tropics as a cover crop and forage plant. It is naturalized in many tropical regions, where it can spread rapidly. It occurs in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.

Habitat

• This vine grows in sunny or partly shaded locations, including grasslands, roadsides, forest edges, plantations, and disturbed ground. It favours warm, moist tropical conditions and can form dense mats over the ground and surrounding vegetation. In some regions outside its native range, its vigorous growth allows it to become invasive.

Calopogonium mucunoides