Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Desmanthus virgatus
guajillo, guajito, guashillo, Ground Tamarind, wild tantan, virgate mimosa
Shrub or suffrutescent herb, 2m tall, with 10-20 pairs of leaflets, fruit is linear. The seeds are brown and lenticular (Wiggins and Porter, 1971).
A widespread and variable weed (Wiggins and Porter, 1971).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)
Order
Fabales
Family
Fabaceae
Genus
Desmanthus
Species
virgatus
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Desmanthus virgatus var. depressus (Willd.) B.L.Turner; Syn.: Desmanthus virgatus var. depressus (POWO, 2022). Syn.: Desmanthus depressus Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. fide Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew & Missouri Botanical Garden (2010). Wiggins & Porter only cite one variety: Desmanthus virgatus var. depressus as pertaining to the Galapagos.
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: The native range of this species is Texas to S. America (POWO, 2023).
- Adsersen, H. (1987) Patrones de distribución interna de las plantas vasculares en Galápagos. Memorias. Investigación Botánica y Manejo en Galápagos. Pg.74-87
- Andersson, N.J. (1855) Om Galápagos Öarnes Vegetation. Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien Handl., Stockholm: 61-256.
- Eliasson, U. (1965) Studies in Galápagos Plants. I. Leguminosae. Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 59: 345-367.
- Heleno, R. Blake, S., Jaramillo, P., Traveset, A., Vargas, P. & Nogales, M. (2011) Frugivory and seed dispersal in the Galápagos: what is the state of the art? Integrative Zoology 6: 110-128.
- Hooker, J.D. (1847) An Enumeration of the Plants of the Galapagos Archipelago; with descriptions of those which are new. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 20: 163-233.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2022) Plants of the world online POWO (2022): Plants of the world online. Published on the Internet; Https://powo.science.kew.org/
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Missouri Botanical Garden (eds.) (2013) The Plant List, Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 1st January).
- Stewart, A. (1911) A botanical survey of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 4th Series, 1: 7-288.
- Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
- Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Desmanthus virgatus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=15634. Accessed 31 October 2026.