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pine barren ticktrefoil

creeping beggarweed, Spanish clover, Spanish tick-trefoil, zarzabacoa comun

Habit Herbs, perennial. Herbs, subshrubs, or shrubs, perennial; stoloniferous or rhizomatous.
Stems

ascending or erect, usually striate, unbranched to inflorescence, 50–100 cm, uncinate-puberulent.

erect or ascending, to 300 cm, pubescent or glabrescent.

Leaves

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.

trifoliolate;

stipules usually persistent, narrowly ovate-deltate, 5–10 mm;

petiole usually 15–20 mm;

leaflet blades elliptic to ovate, apex obtuse or acute, surfaces finely spreading-villosulous to substrigose abaxially, uncinate-puberulent or glabrescent adaxially;

terminal blade 20–90 × 15–45 mm, length 1.5–4 times width.

Inflorescences

branched or unbranched;

rachis densely uncinate-puberulent to pubescent;

primary bracts narrowly lanceolate-triangular, 1.4–2 mm.

unbranched;

rachis densely patent uncinate-pubescent;

primary bracts caducous, narrowly ovate, 6–7 mm.

Pedicels

5–13 mm.

persistent with calyx-remnant at top after loments drop, 5–9 mm.

Flowers

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.

calyx 2–3.5 mm, uncinate-puberulent, lobes pilose, tube 1 mm;

abaxial lobes 1.5–2.5 mm, lateral lobes 1–2 mm;

corolla purple, 5–8 mm.

Loments

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.

sutures symmetrically crenate abaxially, straight or slightly sinuate adaxially;

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

segments 4–8, semiobovate, 3.5–5 × 2.5–3 mm, broadly rounded abaxially, straight or barely convex adaxially, uncinate-puberulent;

stipe 1.5–2 mm.

2n

= 22.

= 22.

Desmodium strictum

Desmodium incanum

Phenology Flowering late summer–fall. Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Dry woodland, barren sandhills, ruderal areas. Pine-palmetto flatwoods, woodland borders, lawns, ruderal sites, disturbed or waste areas.
Elevation 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; DC; DE; FL; GA; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; OK; SC; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; TX; Central America; South America; Mexico (Chiapas, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tamaulipas, Veracruz); West Indies [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Asia (Taiwan), Africa, Indian Ocean Islands (Mauritius, Reunion), Pacific Islands, Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Desmodium incanum may be distinguished by its long-persistent stipules usually fused and nearly surrounding the stem, at least when young, and by its pedicels which are usually borne singly and are each subtended by one primary bract and two (lateral) secondary bracts (B. G. Schubert 1980).

Desmodium incanum was long known as D. canum Schinz & Thellung (= Meibomia cana S. F. Blake) based on the illegitimate Hedysarum canum J. F. Gmelin, a superfluous name for H. racemosum Aublet. The complex nomenclatural history was elaborated by D. H. Nicolson (1978) and L. C. P. Lima et al. (2012, 2014). Hedysarum canescens Miller (1768) is a later homonym of H. canescens Linnaeus (1753), thus illegitimate, and pertains here. Hedysarum canum J. F. Gmelin is a superfluous name for H. racemosum Aublet; Meibomia cana S. F. Blake was intended as a new combination based on that name.

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

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Desmodium Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Desmodium
Sibling taxa
D. arizonicum, D. batocaulon, D. canadense, D. canescens, 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. tenuifolium, D. tortuosum, D. triflorum, D. tweedyi, D. viridiflorum, D. ×humifusum
D. arizonicum, D. batocaulon, D. canadense, D. canescens, D. cinerascens, D. cuspidatum, D. floridanum, D. grahamii, D. gramineum, D. illinoense, 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 strictum, Meibomia stricta Hedysarum incanum, Aeschynomene incana, D. ancistrocarpum, D. canum, D. frutescens, D. frutescens var. amplyophyllum, D. malacophyllum, D. mauritianum, D. supinum var. amblyophyllum, H. ancistrocarpum, H. malacophyllum, H. mauritianum, H. racemosum, Meibomia adscendens var. incana, M. incana, M. malacophylla, M. supina
Name authority (Pursh) de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle: Prodr. 2: 329. (1825) (Swartz) de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle: Prodr. 2: 332. (1825) — name conserved
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