''Derris trifoliata'' is a plant species in the genus ''

Derris ''Derris'' is genus of leguminous plants. It contains 65 species, which range from eastern Africa to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, northern Australia, and the southwest Pacific islands. The roots of '' D. elliptica'' cont ...

'' of the family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. It common in India and in various Indian languages it is known as Angaar valli in Sanskrit; Karanjvel in Marathi; Firta in Konkani; Tigekranugu, Nauatige and Chirathelathige in Telugu; Ketia and Swanlata in Oria; Kammattivalli and Ponumvalli in Malayalam; Kaliya lata or Kalilata and Panlata in Bengali; Panlata also in Hindi. It is also common in various parts of South East Asia with names eg Filipino (asiasimanan (Tagalog)); Indonesian (tuwa areuy (Sundanese)); Malay (Akar Ketuil, Ketui, Setui, Salang, tuba bekut or Sea Tuba (Peninsular)); Thai (phak thaep (central)); Vietnamese (c s k s n wows]c) etc. It is a large climber found commonly in coastal swamps of tropical coastal areas in South-East Asia. It is 3–5 meters long. Its leaves are alternate, pinnate, 12–20 cm; leaflets 5, ovate, 6-10 com, acuminate, rounded at base. Flowers are 1 cm in size, in axillary racemes 8–15 cm. Pods are 3–4 cm, flat, pale yellow in color. The

rotenoid Rotenoids are naturally occurring substances containing a cis-fused tetrahydrochromeno ,4-bhromene nucleus. Many have insecticidal and piscicidal activity, such as the prototypical member of the family, rotenone. Rotenoids are related to the is ...

6aα,12aα-12a-hydroxyelliptone can be found in the stems of ''D. trifoliata''. In 1902 Kazuo Nagai, Japanese chemical engineer of the Government-General of Taiwan, isolated a pure crystalline compound from a closely related plant possibly

Derris elliptica ''Derris eliptica'' is a species of leguminous plant from Southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific islands, including New Guinea. The roots of ''D. elliptica'' contain rotenone, a strong insecticide and fish poison. Also known as ''derris powde ...

which he called

rotenone Rotenone is an odorless, colorless, crystalline isoflavone. It occurs naturally in the seeds and stems of several plants, such as the jicama vine, and in the roots of several other members of the Fabaceae. It was the first-described member of the ...

, after the Taiwanese name of the plant 蘆藤 (Min Nan Chinese: lôo-tîn) translated into Japanese rōten (ローテン). Derris pod, root, stem all are rich in poisonous rotenoids and used commonly in insecticide, piscicide and pesticide activities and also have sometimes caused human morbidity or mortality due to suicide attempts or accidental ingestion. The larvae of ''

Hasora hurama ''Hasora hurama'', the broad-banded awl, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Australia (north-eastern coast of the Northern Territory, the northern Gulf and the north-eastern coast of Queensland), Irian Jaya, Maluku, the Sol ...

'' feed on ''D. trifoliata''.

Gallery

File:Derris trifoliata Lour..jpg File:Derris_trifoliata_(2520240057).jpg File:Pollen grains of Derris trifoliata.jpg, Pollen grains

References

Millettieae Plants described in 1790 {{Millettieae-stub