Desmodium canadense (Showy tick trefoil)

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Desmodium canadense (L.) DC.

Showy tick trefoil

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Fabales	Legumes (pea and bean families)
Family	Fabaceae	Legume family (peas and beans)
Genus	Desmodium	Fromthe Greek desmos, “bond, fetter, halter, or chain”
Species	canadense	“Of or from Canada”

About plant names...

The “tick” in showy tick trefoil refers to this plant's seed pods, which have an uncanny knack for leaping onto clothing and staying there. These plants are North American natives.

Plants: Up to 3' (91 cm) tall, usually erect, sometimes canted at angles or lying along the ground. Stems are covered with fine white hairs, and have long vertical striations.

Leaves: Roughly oval in shape, often wider near the base, and 1½-3½" (3.8-8.9 cm) long × ½-1¾" (1.3-4.6 cm) in size. They often occur in groups of three.

Flowers: Panicles up to 8" (20 cm) long, with pink flowers each about ½-¾" (1.3-1.9 cm) long. Each flower consists of an upward-pointing petal and a downward-pointing pouch-shaped petal.

Fruits: Seedpods loosely resemble peas, and are up to 2½" (6.3 cm) long, consisting of several light green segments, each shaped like the letter ‘D’. The pods have velcro-like hairs that adhere to passing animals and amateur botanists.

Online References:

The Island Creek Elementary School's Study of Northern Virginia Ecology

Illinois Wildflowers

Missouriplants.com

The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

DiversityOfLife.org

Some similar species:

8/30/2010 · Old RR bed near Wilkins Farm, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 27 cm)

8/11/2012 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 4" (14 × 10 cm)

Hitchhiking seedpods. · 8/30/2010 · Old RR bed near Wilkins Farm, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 8.2 cm)

	You are here Desmodium canadense	*Desmodium nudiflorum*	*Desmodium paniculatum*
Common Name	showy tick trefoil	naked tick-trefoil	panicled tick-trefoil
Plant	Up to 3' (91 cm) tall, usually erect, sometimes canted at angles or lying along the ground. Stems are covered with *fine white hairs, and have long vertical striations*.	A leafy stem 4-12" (10-30 cm) high is topped by leafless racemes of delicate, usually pink flowers.	Up to 3½' (1 m) tall.
Flowers	Panicles up to 8" (20 cm) long, with pink flowers each about ½-¾" (1.3-1.9 cm) long. Each flower consists of an upward-pointing petal and a downward-pointing pouch-shaped petal.	Flower-bearing stems, which are devoid of leaves. Flowers appear in racemes, emerging from the stems in pairs, and are somewhat unevenly distributed. Each flower is pink or purplish, rarely white, and ¼-⁵/₁₆" (6.3-8.4 mm) long. It has a rounded upper petal that is somewhat heart-shaped. Below are 3 more petals, two narrow, rounded petals called “wings,” and a central thinner petal. The flowers are on stalks, usually dull red, up to ¾" (1.9 cm) long.	Upper stems are topped with either racemes or narrow panicles of bright pink to lavender flowers. They appear from June through as late as November. Each flower is on a stem (petiole) ½" (1.3 cm) long. It is about ½" (1.3 cm) in size, comprised of an upper pink petal called the banner, with two tiny yellow spots at its base; and four small lower petals.
Leaves	*Roughly oval* in shape, often wider near the base, and 1½-3½" (3.8-8.9 cm) long × ½-1¾" (1.3-4.6 cm) in size. They often occur in groups of three.	Leaves occur on a *separate stem from the flowers*. Each leaf, on a stem 2-3" (5-7.6 cm) long, is a compound leaf comprised of three leaflets. Each leaflet is 1½-4" (4-10 cm) × 1½-2½" (3.8-6.3 cm). Each terminal leaflet is on a mini-stem—a “petiolule”—¾" (1.9 cm) long, while the two smaller side leaflets are on petiolules ⅛" (3.2 mm) long.	*Lanceolate to elliptic to oblong,* alternate, and usually 2 to 10 times as long as wide. Leaves are compound, pinnately-trifoliate—comprised of three leaflets. Each leaflet can be as much as 3½" (8.9 cm) × ¾" (1.9 cm), though they are typically smaller. Leaf edges are entire. Upper left surfaces are medium green, while undersides are a lighter color due to presence of tiny whitish hairs.
Fruit	Seedpods loosely resemble peas, and are up to 2½" (6.3 cm) long, consisting of several light green segments, each shaped like the letter 'D'. The pods have velcro-like hairs that adhere to passing animals and amateur botanists.	Flat, segmented pods consist of one to four lobes. Each lobe is a half-circle, with the flat sides along the stem. Short, hooked, velcro-like hairs on these pods help them hitch a ride on passers-by.	Seed pods, called loments, have tiny sticky hairs that adhere to passing animals. They are up to 1½" (3.8 cm) long.
Range/ Zones
Habitats		Mesic, damp, deciduous forests with rich soil and partial sunlight.	Thinly wooded bluffs, rocky or sandy open woodlands, savannas, woodland edges, thickets, rocky glades, and partially shaded roadside embankments. It is more common in soils disturbed by logging or fire.
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence

	*Desmodium rotundifolium*
Common Name	prostrate ticktrefoil
Plant	*Prostrate*, with green or reddish stems, clambering over the ground up to 3' (1 m).
Flowers	Pinkish-purple flowers, pea-like in shape, are about ⅜" (1 cm) in size. They are bilaterally symmetrical, appearing from July to September.
Leaves	Alternate, in clusters of three, on stems up to ⅜" (1 cm). The main leaflet is up to 1¾" (5 cm), and *almost round*. The two side leaflets are about two-thirds the size of the main one, and ovate.
Fruit	Seedpods resemble small pea pods with small hooked hairs and 4-6 segments.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Forest path edges, oak-hickory or oak forests
Type	Wild
Occurrence	Uncommon

8/14/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 14 × 9" (35 × 23 cm)

7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 4½ × 7" (11 × 17 cm)

8/14/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 5" (17 × 13 cm)

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4½ × 4½" (11 × 12 cm)

9/4/2017 · Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 3" (12 × 8.5 cm)

8/13/2010 · Old RR bed near Wilkins Farm, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 13" (21 × 31 cm)

7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

Meibomia canadensis (L.) Kuntze

Desmodium canadense description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 23 Aug 2023.

Leaf damage caused by locust digitate leaf miner (Parectopa robiniella) · 9/24/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 4½ × 4" (11 × 10 cm)

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 7" (13 × 18 cm)

7/12/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 6" (18 × 14 cm)

7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

9/4/2017 · Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

Range:

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