Desmodium lindheimeri |
Desmodium nuttallii |
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Lindheimer's ticktrefoil |
Nuttall's ticktrefoil |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial. | Herbs or subshrubs, perennial. |
Stems | erect, branched, angled and grooved, 40–60 cm, uncinate-puberulent and -pubescent, also sparsely pilose. |
ascending to erect, 30–100 cm, medially villous, uncinate-puberulent and -pubescent, scarcely pilose. |
Leaves | trifoliolate; stipules ± persistent, reflexed, broadly or obliquely ovate, 7–8 mm, base subamplexicaul; petiole 10–50 mm; leaflet blades usually ovate, rhombic to broadly ovate, or semiorbiculate, rarely narrowly ovate, base truncate or broadly obtuse, apex acute, surfaces densely villosulous abaxially, uncinate-puberulent and pilose adaxially; terminal blade 50–100 × 40–75 mm, length usually less than 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 | usually unbranched; rachis densely patent uncinate-pubescent; primary bracts broadly ovate, 4.5–7 mm. |
terminal and branched; rachis patent uncinate-puberulent and pilose; primary bracts ovate, 2–4 mm, usually villous. |
Pedicels | 5 mm. |
4–10 mm. |
Flowers | calyx 2–2.5 mm, uncinate-puberulent, tube 1 mm; abaxial lobes 1–1.5 mm, lateral lobes 0.7 mm; corolla blue-green, 6–7 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 | margins ± involute and contorted, sutures deeply crenate abaxially, shallowly dentate adaxially; connections central, 1/5 as broad as segments; segments (1–)3–5, subrhombic to semiovate, 7–15 × 5–8 mm, rounded abaxially, obtusely angled adaxially, glabrous, sutures densely uncinate-pubescent; stipe 2–3.5 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. |
Desmodium lindheimeri |
Desmodium nuttallii |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. | Flowering summer–fall. |
Habitat | Rocky ravines, oak-juniper woodlands. | Open woodlands and borders, savannas, fields, roadsides. |
Elevation | 200–300 m. (700–1000 ft.) | 0–900 m. (0–3000 ft.) |
Distribution |
TX; Mexico (Chiapas, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas) |
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 | Desmodium lindheimeri resembles D. canescens and its relatives, especially D. ochroleucum, in having relatively large loments. It is common in its narrow range in the Edwards Plateau (Comal County) and is widespread in Mexico (M. Enquist 1995). (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 | Meibomia lindheimeri | Meibomia nuttallii |
Name authority | Vail: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 18: 120. (1891) | (Schindler) B. G. Schubert: Rhodora 52: 142. (1950) |
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