Dillen's tick-clover
Desmodium perplexum B. G. Schub.
[=Desmodium paniculatum (L.) DC. var. dillenii (J. Darl.) Isley ]
Images
Click on image to view full size
Morphology
- Stem
- Ascending to erect, usually branched above, sparsely to densely pilose, often also with minute hooked hairs.
- Leaves
- Alternate, odd-pinnately compound, stipules narrowly lanceolate to linear, 1/12 to 1/4 inch long, less than 1/25 inch wide; petiole .6 to 2 inches; leaflets 3, ovate to broadly elliptic or lanceolate, base rounded to truncate, margins entire, tip obtuse to acute, surfaces sparsely to moderately spreading-pubescent, veins of lower surface not conspicuously raised; terminal leaflet 1.2 to 2.75 inches long, .4 to 1.6 inch wide; lateral leaflets .8 to 2.75 inches long, .4 to 1.6 inch wide.
- Inflorescence
- Racemes, axillary and terminal, branched; axis pilose and with minute hooked hairs; bracts ovate, 1/16 to 1/12 inch.
- Flower
- Pedicels 1/6 to 1/3 inch; calyx cup-shaped, 1/8 to 1/6 inch; corolla papilionaceous, usually pink to lavender, .2 to .4 inch, often with lighter pair of spots at base of banner; stamens 10, united in two groups.
- Fruit
- Loments straight, segments (2-)3-5, triangular to rhombic in outline, margins obtusely angled abaxially, rounded to obtusely angled adaxially, .2 to .27 inch by .14 to .27 inch. Seeds 1 per segment, tan, ca. 1/6 inch, smooth.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Floodplain, maple-basswood, oak-hickory, and post oak-black jack oak woodlands, thickets, tallgrass prairies, old fields, pastures, roadsides.
- Distribution
- East 1/3 of Kansas
Additional Notes
Comments
Desmodium, like a chain, alluding to the jointed legumes, and perplexum alluding to its perplexing taxonomy. Identification of Desmodium species can be difficult without the mature loments.
Synonyms
Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.
Scientific Name: Desmodium paniculatum
Full Citation: Desmodium paniculatum DC.
Subspecies/Varieties:
- var. dillenii Isley
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Wildflower
- Family
- Fabaceae - Bean Family
- Life Span
- Perennial
- Height
- 20-60 inches
- Origin
- Native
- Last Updated
- 2018-02-22
Color Groups
Flowering Period
Blooms: July, August, September