Stiff Tick-Trefoil

(Desmodium strictum)

 

   

 

 

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

 

Stiff Tick-Trefoil (Desmodium strictum Pursh)

Identification: Flowers pealike, pink to lavender with lower petals forming an elongate projection. Flowers loosely arranged on an elongate flower stalk. Seedpods segmented with 1 to 3 segments each. Stem smooth. Leaves with 3 leaflets, each leaflet very narrow, stiff, and borne on a short petiole. Plant 2 to 4 feet in height.

Distribution: A coastal species found from New Jersey to Florida and westward along the Gulf Coast to Texas.

Habitat: Stiff Tick-Trefoil is found in pine barrens.

Flowering period: July to August.

Similar Species: The stiff, narrow leaves and the pine barren habitat readily identify this species.

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