Derris scandens is a plant species in the genus Derris of the family Fabaceae. It grows throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Malesia and Australasia. It has been used as a herb in Thai traditional medicine for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. Gastrointestinal symptoms were reported as the most serious side effects from its oral use. Derris scandens is an evergreen climbing shrub with branched stems up to 20 metres long growing from a taproot. The woody stems are 2 - 5cm in diameter, they scramble over the ground, climbing into nearby vegetation and supporting themselves by twining
Care should be taken, particularly in winter, that the plant doesn’t become too dry. Feed your plant monthly with a half-strength liquid fertilizer.
An ideal soil would be made up of 45% minerals (sand, clay, silt), 5 % organic (plant and animal) material, 25% air and 25% water. The mineral portion would be loam (20 – 30% clay, 30 – 50% silt and 30 – 50% sand).
