Desmodium marilandicum |
Desmodium strictum |
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Maryland tickclover, smooth small-leaf tick-trefoil |
pine barren ticktrefoil |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial. | Herbs, perennial. | ||||||||
Stems | ascending to erect, usually striate, branched or unbranched, 30–150 cm, glabrous or sparsely to densely uncinate-puberulent, sometimes also patent long-pilose. |
ascending or erect, usually striate, unbranched to inflorescence, 50–100 cm, uncinate-puberulent. |
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Leaves | trifoliolate; stipules caducous or moderately persistent, subulate to narrowly ovate, 2–5 mm; petiole 1–30 mm; leaflet blades narrowly ovate, elliptic, elliptic-ovate, ovate-rhombic, or suborbiculate, apex obtuse or acute, mucronulate, surfaces sparsely to densely uncinate-puberulent and appressed-villous abaxially, uncinate-puberulent or glabrescent adaxially; terminal blade 9–75 × 6–33 mm, length 1.5–4(–5) times width. |
trifoliolate; stipules mostly persistent, linear to narrowly ovate-deltate, 2–5 mm; petiole 6.5–18 mm; leaflet blades linear to narrowly oblong, usually folded and appearing narrower, leathery, apex obtuse to acute, surfaces reticulate-veined adaxially, glabrous or sparsely puberulent abaxially, glabrous adaxially; terminal blade 35–60(–80) × 4–7 mm, length 8–10 times width. |
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Inflorescences | terminal and branched, axillary and unbranched; rachis uncinate-puberulent; primary bracts ovate, 1.5–3 mm. |
branched or unbranched; rachis densely uncinate-puberulent to pubescent; primary bracts narrowly lanceolate-triangular, 1.4–2 mm. |
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Pedicels | 3–19 mm, uncinate-puberulent. |
5–13 mm. |
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Flowers | calyx 1.5–2.5 mm, pubescent (not uncinate-puberulent), tube 1 mm; abaxial lobes 1.2–1.5 mm, lateral lobes 1 mm; corolla usually lavender to red-violet or pink-purple, rarely white, 4–6 mm. |
calyx 2.5–3.5 mm, uncinate-puberulent to pubescent on lobes, tube 1 mm; abaxial lobes 2–2.5 mm, lateral lobes 1.5–2 mm; corolla pink or purple, 4 mm. |
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Loments | sutures crenate abaxially, sinuate adaxially; connections adaxial, 1/4–1/2 as broad as segments; segments 1–4, broadly elliptic, 3.5–5.5 × 2.5–4 mm, rounded abaxially, convex adaxially, uncinate-puberulent throughout; stipe 1–2 mm. |
sutures deeply crenate abaxially, with narrow connection between segments, nearly straight adaxially, slightly sinuate at isthmus; connections adaxial, 1/5 as broad as segments; segments 1 or 2(or 3), semiorbiculate, 4.5–6 × 3–4 mm, symmetrically rounded abaxially, incipiently or plainly concave adaxially, densely uncinate-puberulent, more densely on sutures; stipe 1.5 mm. |
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2n | = 22. |
= 22. |
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Desmodium marilandicum |
Desmodium strictum |
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Phenology | Flowering late summer–fall. | |||||||||
Habitat | Dry woodland, barren sandhills, ruderal areas. | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
e United States; sc United States; West Indies
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AL; DC; DE; FL; GA; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; OK; SC; TX; VA
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). Desmodium ciliare, D. lancifolium, and D. marilandicum have generally been recognized as closely related but distinct species in floras of the United States. They commonly have two or three articulate, small loments. D. Isely (1990, 1998) grouped them as the D. ciliare Group and regarded forms intermediate between them as putative hybrids: D. ciliare × D. marilandicum and D. ciliare × D. lancifolium. They have been separated by differences in the leaflets and pubescence, but the differences are not always clear. They are treated here as one species with three varieties. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Desmodium strictum is mostly restricted to dry, sandy soils along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Because of the close similarities between D. strictum and D. tenuifolium, mature fruits are necessary to distinguish the two species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | ||||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Hedysarum marilandicum, Meibomia marilandica | Hedysarum strictum, Meibomia stricta | ||||||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle: Prodr. 2: 328. (1825) — (as marylandicum) | (Pursh) de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle: Prodr. 2: 329. (1825) | ||||||||
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