File:Aeschynomene indica habit5.jpg

English: Erect to spreading, warm season, annual shrubby legume, 30-250cm tall. May be a short-lived (2-3 years) perennial under favourable moisture conditions. Leaves are pinnate (feather-like), with 21-71 hairless leaflets (4-8mm long), which fold-up when touched. 2-4 pea-like yellow flowers, with red throats, are borne in the leaf axils in summer and autumn. Flattened, segmented pods (4-5cm long) break into 3-10 single-seeded units at maturity. Distribution is largely determined by moisture availability and drainage. Widespread in periodically flooded/waterlogged sites on sandy loams to clays with pH 4.5-8. Can be a weed of rice and cotton crops. Large, dense stands can provide good habitat for native animals; also harbours feral animals. A productive, protein rich feed that may be suitable as a green manure crop; fixes nitrogen. High quality, but not readily eaten when green. It is utilised once hayed-off, but quality rapidly declines as leaves and pods are readily lost. Occasionally toxic to ruminants when green and the seeds are toxic to horses and pigs. Persists under moderate to heavy stocking if allowed to set seed.