SafePlants

No images found for this plant ID: 14025.

Ensure images are uploaded to the Media Library and tagged with "14025" in the "plant_image_tag" taxonomy.

Safe for Children?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Dogs?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Cats?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Reptiles?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

hairy small-leaf ticktrefoil

Scientific Name: Desmodium ciliare

Family: Fabaceae

Category: Dicot

Growth: Forb/herb

Duration: Perennial

Other Names: NY (little-leaf tick-trefoil)

       

Desmodium ciliare: Hairy Small-Leaf Ticktrefoil

Desmodium ciliare, commonly known as hairy small-leaf ticktrefoil, is a forb/herb belonging to the Fabaceae family.

Considerations for Pets

  • The plant has hairy fruit (loments) covered with tiny hooked hairs that readily attach to fur.

Considerations for Children

  • The plant has hairy fruit (loments) covered with tiny hooked hairs that readily attach to clothing.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

  • Scientific Name: Desmodium ciliare (Muhl. ex Willd.) DC.
  • Common Names: Hairy small-leaf ticktrefoil, Ciliate Tick Trefoil, Hairy Small Leaf Tick Trefoil, Littleleaf tickclover
  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Family: Fabaceae
  • Taxonomic Rank: Species, Variety (Desmodium ciliare var. ciliare, Desmodium ciliare var. lancifolium)
  • Synonym: Meibomia ciliaris (Muhl. ex Willd.) S.F. Blake
  • Plant Symbol: DECI

Distribution and Habitat

  • Native to southern and eastern North America.
  • Found in dry forest edges.

Morphological Characteristics

  • Most are herbs or small shrubs.
  • The central stem is light green, terete, and hairy.
  • Leaf arrangement is alternate, with one leaf per node along the stem.
  • Leaf Type: Compound
  • Trifoliate leaves with a pair of small stipules that are linear-lanceolate at the base (these soon wither).
  • Flowers are purple, violet, or pink and arranged in racemes.
  • The calyx can have a small amount of fine hair.

Interactions with Other Organisms

  • The fruit are loments, covered with tiny hooked hairs that readily attach to fur or clothes.

Further Information

  • USDA, NRCS, Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center
  • Discover Life: Page about the biology, natural history, ecology, identification, and distribution of Desmodium ciliare.
  • Dave's Garden
  • Garden Guides
  • The Wildlife Network
  • Plant database entry for Hairy Small-leaf Tick Trefoil (Desmodium ciliare)