Panicled Tick-Trefoil

(Desmodium paniculatum)

 

   

 

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Panicled Tick-Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum [L.] DC.)

Identification: Flowers pink to lavender, with lower petals elongate and projecting. Flowers sparse, arranged in a much branched panicle instead of a single flower stalk. Seedpods segmented with 3 to 6 segments per pod. Branches of panicle horizontal from the main flower stem. Leaves with 3 leaflets, each leaflet narrow and elongate, pointed at the apex. Plant 2 to 4 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout eastern North America.

Habitat: Panicled Tick-Trefoil is found in woodland clearings and along the margins of forests.

Flowering period: July to August.

Similar Species: The panicles of flowers on horizontal branches combined with the elongate leaves easily identify this species.

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