North Carolina Wildflowers, Shrubs, & Trees

by Jeffrey S. Pippen | Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Nature Pages


Fabaceae > Desmodium (Tick-trefoil, Tick-clover, Beggar's-ticks, Stick-tights)

Hairy Small-leaved Tick Trefoil (Desmodium ciliare) Hairy Small-leaved Tick Trefoil (Desmodium ciliare)
Durham Co., NC
5 Aug 2006

Statewide in NC and common in various open habitats, often near woods.

Hairy Small-leaved Tick Trefoil (Desmodium ciliare)
Duke Forest, Orange Co., NC
6 Sep 2018
Hairy Small-leaved Tick Trefoil (Desmodium ciliare) Hairy Small-leaved Tick Trefoil (Desmodium ciliare)
Durham Co., NC
5 Aug 2006
Hairy Small-leaved Tick Trefoil (Desmodium ciliare)
Duke Forest, Orange Co., NC
6 Sep 2018

Hoary Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canescens)
Forest edge/roadside in Durham, NC
3 Sep 2008
Hoary Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canescens)
Forest edge/roadside in Durham, NC
3 Sep 2008
Hoary Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canescens)
Forest edge/roadside in Durham, NC
3 Sep 2008

Panicled Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum) Panicled Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011
Panicled Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum) Panicled Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011
Panicled Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum) Panicled Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011
Panicled Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum) Panicled Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011

Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum) Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011
Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum) Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011
Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum) Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011
Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum) Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011
Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum) Perplexed Tick Trefoil (Desmodium perplexum)
Chatham Co., NC
2 Oct 2011

Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium) Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Pine savanna in Pender Co., NC
13 Sep 2009

Fairly common in natural, fairly open, wet habitats in the NC coastal plain.

Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium) Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Pine savanna in Pender Co., NC
13 Sep 2009

Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium) Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Pine savanna in Pender Co., NC
13 Sep 2009

Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium) Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Pine savanna in Pender Co., NC
13 Sep 2009

Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium) Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Pine savanna in Pender Co., NC
13 Sep 2009

Compound leaves have long slender leaflets.

Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium) Slimleaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Pine savanna in Pender Co., NC
13 Sep 2009

Slimleaf Tick-trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Holly Shelter, Pender Co., NC
4 Oct 2018
Slimleaf Tick-trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Holly Shelter, Pender Co., NC
4 Oct 2018
Slimleaf Tick-trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Holly Shelter, Pender Co., NC
4 Oct 2018
Slimleaf Tick-trefoil (Desmodium tenuifolium)
Holly Shelter, Pender Co., NC
4 Oct 2018

Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum) Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum)
Edge of mixed woods dirt roadside, Korstian Division, Duke Forest
10 July 2013

Common statewide in forested habitats in North Carolina. Flower stems are leafless and leafy stems are flowerless in this species, hence its name!

Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum) Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum)
Edge of mixed woods dirt roadside, Korstian Division, Duke Forest
10 July 2013

Calyx lobes are shorter than the calyx tube and stamens are monodelphous. These are two of the characters that support splitting this group into the genus Hylodesmum and out of Desmodium.

Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum) Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum)
Edge of mixed woods dirt roadside, Korstian Division, Duke Forest
10 July 2013

With thumbnail for size comparison

Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum) Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum)
Edge of mixed woods dirt roadside, Korstian Division, Duke Forest
10 July 2013

Leaves pubescent with ciliate margins

Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum) Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum)
Edge of mixed woods dirt roadside, Korstian Division, Duke Forest
10 July 2013

Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum) Naked Tick Trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum, Desmodium nudiflorum)
Edge of mixed woods dirt roadside, Korstian Division, Duke Forest
10 July 2013


Few-flowered Ticktrefoil (Desmodium pauciflorum, Hylodesmum pauciflorum) Few-flowered Ticktrefoil (Hylodesmum pauciflorum, Desmodium pauciflorum)
Island Creek, Croatan NF, Craven Co., NC
12 Aug 2016

Rare to uncommon in forested habitats statewide in NC. Strong evidence suggests this species should be separated from Desmodium into the genus Hylodesmum.

Few-flowered Ticktrefoil (Desmodium pauciflorum, Hylodesmum pauciflorum) Few-flowered Ticktrefoil (Hylodesmum pauciflorum, Desmodium pauciflorum)
Island Creek, Croatan NF, Craven Co., NC
12 Aug 2016
Few-flowered Ticktrefoil (Desmodium pauciflorum, Hylodesmum pauciflorum) Few-flowered Ticktrefoil (Hylodesmum pauciflorum, Desmodium pauciflorum)
Island Creek, Croatan NF, Craven Co., NC
12 Aug 2016

Pointedleaf Ticktrefoil, Heartleaf Tick-trefoil (Desmodium glutinosum, Hylodesmum glutinosum) Pointedleaf Ticktrefoil, Heartleaf Tick-trefoil (Hylodesmum glutinosum, Desmodium glutinosum)
Island Creek, Croatan NF, Craven Co., NC
12 Aug 2016
Pointedleaf Ticktrefoil, Heartleaf Tick-trefoil (Desmodium glutinosum, Hylodesmum glutinosum) Pointedleaf Ticktrefoil, Heartleaf Tick-trefoil (Hylodesmum glutinosum, Desmodium glutinosum)
Island Creek, Croatan NF, Craven Co., NC
12 Aug 2016
Pointedleaf Ticktrefoil, Heartleaf Tick-trefoil (Desmodium glutinosum, Hylodesmum glutinosum) Pointedleaf Ticktrefoil, Heartleaf Tick-trefoil (Hylodesmum glutinosum, Desmodium glutinosum, )
Island Creek, Croatan NF, Craven Co., NC
12 Aug 2016

Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; Alan Weakley's Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Supplemental resources include USDA plants website, and NatureServe.


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Created on ... Oct 25, 2006 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com