Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin

Desmodium canadense (L.) DC.

Family: Fabaceae

Canadian tick-trefoil, showy tick-trefoil

[Hedysarum canadense L., more...]

Richard Bauer

Steve C. Garske

University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)

Open Interactive Map

Etymology: Desmodium: Greek meaning "long branch or chain," probably from the shape and the way the seedpods attach
Plants: erect, perennial, 3'-6' tall forb, branching toward the top
Leaves: 3-parted, on stalks up to 3/4" long and up to half as long as the end leaflet
Flowers: purple to pink, 5-parted, 1/3"-1/2" long, stalked; inflorescence a branched, dense cluster (panicle) of several, spike-like clusters (racemes) with obvious small, leaf-like bracts beneath; blooms July-Aug.
Fruits: flat pod, slightly curving, divided into triangular segments that are covered with clinging, hooked hairs, fruit drawing

Habitat: moist to wet; thickets, streambanks
Conservation Status: Native

Dry, mesic, or wet prairies, low meadows, fields, open oak woods, oak savannas, borders or openings of woods (oak, oak-pine, aspen), thickets, clifftops and outcrops, along roadsides and railroads, lakeshores, marsh borders. This is our most common species, found throughout the state but absent from the Northern Highlands. Often included in prairie restorations and more shade tolerant than D. illinoense, with which it is often confused. It differs in its much showier, branched inflorescences (leafy throughout) and short petioles as well as the characters noted in the keys. Desmodium illinoense usually has an unbranched inflorescence and long-petioled leaves abruptly stopping some distance below the flowers.