Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Desmodium tortuosum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Florida Tick-trefoil from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Desmodium tortuosum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Desmodium tortuosum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-26-009:
Desmodium tortuosum FAMILY Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Meibomia purpurea
COMMON NAME:
Florida Tick-trefoil, dixie tick-trefoil
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_084
November Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_086
November Williamsburg County SC
Loment of 2-7 segments, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. Each 3-3.5mm long, per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
Beggar's Lice (Tick-trefoil) species
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_086b
November Williamsburg County SC
Loment segments nearly symmetrical (diamond, rounded-diamond, or ~ elliptical), per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
loments of Desmodium species
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_088b
November Williamsburg County SC
Stipules and stipels persistent. Leaflets often more than 2x long as wide, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_089
November Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_090
November Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_091
November Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_091b
November Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_094
November Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_097
November Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm161106_099
November Williamsburg County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Desmodium tortuosum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Desmodium tortuosum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Desmodium tortuosum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-26-009:
Desmodium tortuosum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Meibomia purpurea
4059
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Fields, woodland borders, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Native? Non-native? perhaps only introduced in the southeastern US
Common in Coastal Plain (uncommon in NC Coastal Plain) (rare in Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Odd-pinnately compound: 3 leaflets
Alternate
Stipules are persistent.
Stipels persistent.
FLOWER:
Summer
Rose-purplish
Bilaterally symmetrical
2-lipped calyx
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens, diadelphous, 9 and 1
Superior ovary
Flowers in panicles and racemes
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Loment with 2-7 nearly symmetrical segments
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".