Volume 26, Issue 78, July - December, 2025

New Distribution Record of Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd. (Fabaceae) from Kachchh District, Gujarat, India

Ruchika S Thacker^1♦, Rashmi S Yadav¹, Santosh Yadav², Rakesh A Poptani³, Vivek Chauhan³

¹Department of Botany, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
²Avaniruh Nature Services, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
³Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE), Bhuj. Gujarat, India.

^♦Corresponding Author
Ruchika S. Thacker, Department of Botany, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT

Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd., a tropical American legume widely introduced as fodder and a soil-improving plant, is recorded for the first time from the Kachchh district, Gujarat. We recorded the species from Sharad Baug Palace and Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE). Several plants at different growth stages, including seedlings and fruiting ones, were noticed. The species is self-sustaining, with a healthy regenerating ratio in the population. Previous Literature show the species distribution from Gujarat, but no record has been found from the Kachchh district. Therefore, with this article, we report this species as an addition to the Kachchh flora. The voucher specimen was deposited in the herbarium of GUIDE, Bhuj.

Keywords: Desmanthus virgatus, Fabaceae, New record, Kachchh, Arid region flora

Species, 2026, 27(79), e8s3263

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Published: 16 April 2026