Red Butterfly Wing

Its native distribution is uncertain. Likely to be Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, and possibly Myanmar. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. It is grown as an ornamental, valued especially for its attractive leaves that look somewhat like a butterfly.

No found data on this. Need further research.

Grows on open grasslands, thickets, roadsides, seasides in southern China. A weed of pastures and roadsides, growing on sandy, gravelly and shale soils at elevations from 90 - 750  in Jamaica. The plant grows on lighter soils in the wild.

• Roots - taproots, branched, cylindrical, dark yellow, also has small lateral roots.
• Stems - erect, green, cylindrical, slender and pubescent.
• Leaves - compound with 3 leaflets; and purplish red with stripes. Larger than the two lateral leaflets, the terminal leaflet is shaped like a boomerang. Leaves become bend downwards when night falls.
• Flowers - Inflorescences are 5 – 15 cm long with hairy pedicels. Flowers are off-white and about 6 mm in diameter. Calyx is reticulate veined. Upper 2 lobes of calyx are connate and lower lobes are almost as long the tube.
• Fruits - The legume is 4-or 5-jointed. Matured seeds are blackish brown, about 3 mm x 2mm. Seeds are glabrous and wholly enclosed by the calyx.

Propagated by seeds.

Phenols, sterols, sesquiterpenoids, alkaloids, polyphenols, fatty acids, flavonoid glycosides, flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol), triterpenes, denbinobin, 5,7-dihydroxy-chromone, rhein, sanleng acid, wedelolacetone, phytol, 10-undecenoic acid, 6  -methylheptyl-2-propenoate, 2-(2-benzothiazolylthio)-1-(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)-ethanone, tetrahydro-2-methyl-thiophene, coumarins, tannins, quinine.

• The whole plant is used medicinally for treating tuberculosis and snake bites.
• The leaves are used as a topical treatment for healing bone fractures.