Desmodium illinoense
| Desmodium illinoense | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Desmodium |
| Species: | D. illinoense
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| Binomial name | |
| Desmodium illinoense A.Gray
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Meibomia illinoensis (A. Gray) Kuntze | |
Desmodium illinoense, the Illinois ticktrefoil, is a flowering plant in the bean family (Fabaceae), native to the central United States and Ontario, Canada.[2] Illinois ticktrefoil grows in sunny places, such as prairies and oak savannas of the Great Plains and Great Lakes regions.[3]
Description
Desmodium illinoense is a perennial herb reaching a height of 1.2 m (4 feet), with much of the shoot covered with hooked hairs. The leaves are trifoliate and grow up to 6.3 cm (2.5 inches) long. The leaflets are rounded with a blunt tip. The flowers are white to pink with a few white spots near the center.[3]
The seed pods are broken into sections called loments, where the outer layer of the fruit is constricted between the seeds so that when the pod is ripe it can break easily into individual segments. These are covered with hooked hairs so that they can easily become attached to fur or to clothing and be carried some distance before falling to the ground and germinating.[3][4][5][6]
References
- ^ Tropicos
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Desmodium illinoense". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ a b c Illinois Wildflowers, Illinois Tick Trefoil, John Hilty
- ^ Gray, Asa. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 8: 289. 1870.
- ^ Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains i–vii, 1–1392. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence.
- ^ Voss, E. G. 1985. Michigan Flora. Part II Dicots (Saururaceae-Cornaceae). Bulletin of the Cranbrook Institute of Science 59. xix + 724.