Common Name:

General Information

Flemingia macrophylla is a shrub producing a cluster of prostrate to erect stems from a deep taproot; it can grow 1 - 4 metres tall[].
This species is one of the secondary sources of a very popular Arab dye called 'waras', 'wars' or 'warus. Waras is a coarse purple or brilliant orange-brown powder. The plant is sometimes cultivated for green manure, to provide shade for plantations and to stabilize the soil.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - southern China, Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

Along watercourses in secondary forest, as well as under drier conditions such as in fields infested with Imperata cylindrica[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	3.00 m
Pollinators	Bees, Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist to wet tropics, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 12 - 36°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,300 - 2,200mm, but tolerates 1,100 - 3,500mm[].
Prefers a sunny position, but is tolerant of light shade[, ]. Capable of surviving on poorly drained soils with waterlogging[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7, tolerating 4 - 8[]. Established plants can tolerate fairly long dry spells[]. Tolerant of up to 4 months drought a year[].
Often cultivated as a green manure and dye plant, it has been introduced into many areas outside its native range. It sometimes escapes from cultivation and becomes naturalized - in some Pacific Islands, including the Cook Islands, Solomon Islands and Tonga, it is reported to be invasive[].
Plants are moderately able to survive fires[].
Good weed control is required during the first 6 months of sowing since the plants are relatively slow to establish; once established, they require little attention[].
A two year old stand of plants with a spacing of 50cm x 400cm can produce about 6.8 tonnes of dry woody stems per hectare for fuel[].
Plants can be cut more frequently than every 3 months, but preferably not at intervals of less than 40 days. With an excellent coppicing capacity, the shrub will survive under this cutting regime for many years[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

The leaves are sometimes eaten[].

Medicinal

The leaves are febrifuge and are used for treating postpartum fever and to treat paralysis and pain in the joints[].
A decoction of the leaves is used to bathe sores and swellings[].

The entire plant is given to relieve stomach-ache[].

A decoction of the root is drunk as a treatment for spermatorrhoea[].
The roots are pounded to a paste and applied externally to ulcers and swellings, especially of the neck[, , ]. A decoction is used to bathe swellings and sores[].

Warrus, (a dull purplish resinous powder rubbed off the dry fruits), is used as an anthelmintic and as a remedy for coughs and chills[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is grown as a hedge on terraces to control soil erosion[, ].
Used as a cover and shade crop in young plantations of cocoa, sisal, coffee, banana, plantain, oil palm and rubber; it also acts as a good windbreak[, ].
The plant provides mulch for associated food crops. Owing to the slow decomposition of the leaves, the mulch has long-term effects in weed control, moisture conservation and reduction of soil temperature[]. Flemingia mulch forms a relatively solid layer that effectively prevents germination of weed seeds or stunts their early development for 100 days[].
It is grown in hedges; promising when used as a live fence. In Malaysia, it is a useful bush to plant with creeping legumes, as it provides support for them to climb on and is deep rooting[].
It is grown in alley-cropping systems, used in pineapple plantations to control nematode infestation[]. Grown as an understorey for the Honduras pine (Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis). Useful as a cover crop in perennial plantations[].

Other Uses

One of the sources of the Arab dye called ‘waras’ or ‘warrus’. It is a coarse purple or orange-brown powder consisting of the glandular hairs rubbed from dry Flemingia fruit; capable of dying silk but not wool or cotton, the active component is called flemingin[]. The powder is used in India, the Arab world and in Africa (e.g. in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Malawi), mainly for dyeing silk and cotton a golden-yellow, but also for other purposes such as dyeing bamboo for baskets and making coloured ink[].
It is also used as a cosmetic by placing a small portion of the powder in the palm of the hand and moistening it with water; the hands are then rubbed together, producing a lather of a bright gamboge colour, which is applied as required[].
To prepare the dye, the powder is dissolved in the dye bath with an equal weight of sodium carbonate. When the temperature of the bath reaches 40°c the yarns or textiles to be dyed are put into the bath and the whole is slowly heated to boiling point. To make the colour brighter, the fibre can be washed in slightly acidic water, e.g. made with lemon juice. Beautiful deep yellow or orange colours can be obtained, fast to light and acids, less so to alkaline substances. Those colours were used very frequently in combination with indigo blue in the renowned ikat textiles from Yemen[].

Fuel wood is a valuable by-product[].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing.
When planting in a new area, seed should be sown with a suitable strain of Bradyrhizobium such as CIAT 4203 or 4215.
Cuttings[].

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