Desmodium canescens |
Desmodium nuttallii |
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hoary tick-trefoil, hoary tickclover |
Nuttall's ticktrefoil |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial. | Herbs or subshrubs, perennial. |
Stems | erect or ascending, branched, 50–200 cm, conspicuously or sparsely villous and uncinate-pubescent. |
ascending to erect, 30–100 cm, medially villous, uncinate-puberulent and -pubescent, scarcely pilose. |
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. |
trifoliolate; stipules persistent, narrowly ovate or ovate, 3–6.5 mm; petiole 5–30 mm; leaflet blades ovate to narrowly ovate, base usually rounded, apex obtuse or acute, surfaces closely spreading-villous (often velvety) abaxially, slightly uncinate-puberulent on veins adaxially; terminal blade 50–100 × 30–56 mm, length 1.5–2(–2.2) times width. |
Inflorescences | paniclelike, branched; rachis densely patent bulbous-villous and uncinate-puberulent; primary bracts caducous, narrowly ovate, 4–6 mm. |
terminal and branched; rachis patent uncinate-puberulent and pilose; primary bracts ovate, 2–4 mm, usually villous. |
Pedicels | persistent, 8–13 mm. |
4–10 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. |
calyx 2–3 mm, puberulent and sparsely pilose, tube 1 mm; abaxial lobes 1.5–2 mm, lateral lobes 1 mm; corolla purple or pink, 6–7 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. |
sutures deeply crenate abaxially, sinuate adaxially; connections adaxial, 1/4–1/3 as broad as segments; segments 2–4, semiorbiculate, 4–7 × 3–4.5 mm, rounded abaxially, convex adaxially, often somewhat angled when young, uncinate-pubescent throughout; stipe 3–4 mm. |
2n | = 22. |
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Desmodium canescens |
Desmodium nuttallii |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer–fall. |
Habitat | Open, dry woodlands, cutover areas, thickets, roadsides. | Open woodlands and borders, savannas, fields, roadsides. |
Elevation | 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.) | 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.) |
Distribution |
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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AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
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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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Hedysarum canescens, Meibomia canescens | Meibomia nuttallii |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Poiret in F. Cuvier: Dict. Sci. Nat. ed. 2, 13: 110. (1819) | (Schindler) B. G. Schubert: Rhodora 52: 142. (1950) |
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