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hoary tick-trefoil, hoary tickclover

Habit Herbs, perennial.
Stems

erect or ascending, branched, 50–200 cm, conspicuously or sparsely villous and uncinate-pubescent.

Leaves

trifoliolate;

stipules mostly persistent, usually reflexed, broadly or narrowly ovate, 5–13 mm, base oblique, often auriculate, subamplexicaul;

petiole 30–60 mm;

leaflet blades ovate, thick, papery, apex acute to gradually acuminate, surfaces densely uncinate-puberulent abaxially, uncinate-puberulent and pubescent on veins adaxially;

terminal blade 50–130 × 30–100 mm, length 1.5–2 times width.

Inflorescences

paniclelike, branched;

rachis densely patent bulbous-villous and uncinate-puberulent;

primary bracts caducous, narrowly ovate, 4–6 mm.

Pedicels

persistent, 8–13 mm.

Flowers

calyx 3–5 mm, sparsely or densely puberulent, tube 1 mm;

abaxial lobes to 3 mm, lateral lobes 1 mm;

corolla usually purple to pinkish, rarely white, 9–13 mm.

Loments

sutures dentate or crenate abaxially, sinuate adaxially;

connections adaxial, 1/3–1/2 as broad as segments;

segments 4–6, broadly elliptic, 6.5–13 × 4–7 mm, obtusely angled abaxially becoming round, convex adaxially, uncinate-puberulent and villous, hairs particularly dense on sutures and between segments;

stipe 2.5–6 mm.

2n

= 22.

Desmodium canescens

Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Open, dry woodlands, cutover areas, thickets, roadsides.
Elevation 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; ON
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Discussion

In Texas, Desmodium canescens is known from the eastern third of the state. In Florida, it occurs only in the panhandle region.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Desmodium
Sibling taxa
D. arizonicum, D. batocaulon, D. canadense, D. cinerascens, D. cuspidatum, D. floridanum, D. grahamii, D. gramineum, D. illinoense, D. incanum, D. intortum, D. laevigatum, D. lindheimeri, D. lineatum, D. marilandicum, D. metcalfei, D. nuttallii, D. ochroleucum, D. paniculatum, D. procumbens, D. psilocarpum, D. psilophyllum, D. retinens, D. rosei, D. rotundifolium, D. scopulorum, D. scorpiurus, D. sessilifolium, D. strictum, D. tenuifolium, D. tortuosum, D. triflorum, D. tweedyi, D. viridiflorum, D. ×humifusum
Synonyms Hedysarum canescens, Meibomia canescens
Name authority (Linnaeus) Poiret in F. Cuvier: Dict. Sci. Nat. ed. 2, 13: 110. (1819)
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