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Desmodium
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<h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p>These are mostly inconspicuous plants; few have bright or large flowers. Though some can become sizeable plants, most are <a href="/facts/Herb/EKCltNNF">herbs</a> or small <a href="/facts/Shrub/X1gKVxL5">shrubs</a>. Their fruit are <a href="/facts/Loment/DwEpfIU3">loments</a>, meaning each <a href="/facts/Seed/a4xGSLxJ">seed</a> is dispersed individually enclosed in its segment. This makes them tenacious plants and some species are considered <a href="/facts/Weed/Dog4Ifol">weeds</a> in places. </p> <h2 id="uses">Uses</h2> <p>Several <i>Desmodium</i> species release organic compounds, aerially and into the soil, which make them useful for agriculture: <a href="/facts/Allelopathic/ooH9SfnX">Allelopathic</a> compounds are used there via <a href="/facts/Push-pull_technology/znUHL9FP">push-pull technology</a>. For this <i>Desmodium heterocarpon</i> (now <i>Grona heterocarpos</i>), <i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_intortum/slP8E20U">Desmodium intortum</a></i>, and <i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_uncinatum/SEofLocV">Desmodium uncinatum</a></i> are inter-cropped in <a href="/facts/Maize/lJ6c5xMH">maize</a> and <a href="/facts/Sorghum/D1KNhtdT">sorghum</a> fields to suppress <a href="/facts/Striga/dA37uy6s">witchweeds</a>, including <a href="/facts/Striga_asiatica/a7JbcRpf">Asiatic witchweed</a> (<i>Striga asiatica</i>) and <a href="/facts/Striga_hermonthica/M8HUnqLS">purple witchweed</a> (<i>S. hermonthica</i>) and to repel <i><a href="/facts/Chilo_partellus/bFlk6yXI">Chilo partellus</a></i>, a stem-boring <a href="/facts/Grass_moth/cJmxyuTj">grass moth</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Insect/IgDNvnUL">Insects</a> (including <a href="/facts/Pest_(organism)/mXGHJ8s7">pests</a>) are likewise repelled by high amounts of antixenotic <a href="/facts/Allomone/AjLxsEkj">allomones</a> produced by <i>Desmodium</i>. </p><p>A blue dye is obtained from <i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_incanum/W686926F">Desmodium incanum</a></i>. </p><p>Tick-trefoils in agriculture can also be used as <a href="/facts/Living_mulch/uap94yNm">living mulch</a> and as <a href="/facts/Green_manure/nAfeeD1z">green manure</a>, as they improve soil fertility via <a href="/facts/Nitrogen_fixation/TeLoBpWS">nitrogen fixation</a>. </p><p>Most also make good <a href="/facts/Fodder/b4Hw0Lq0">fodder</a> for animals including <a href="/facts/Bobwhite/weDm7paP">bobwhite</a>, turkey, <a href="/facts/Grouse/kXWH3yap">grouse</a>, deer, cattle and goats.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Wild-living, non-farmed deer appear to rely on <i>Desmodium</i> species in certain areas, particularly during the more stressful summer months. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Caterpillar/PMgzj7F7">caterpillars</a> of the <a href="/facts/Lesser_grass_blue/RFuyI9Y2">lesser grass blue</a> (<i>Zizina otis</i>) and the <a href="/facts/Two-barred_flasher/tWtF7Tal">two-barred flasher</a> (<i>Astraptes fulgerator</i>) feed on tick-trefoils. </p> <h2 id="alkaloids">Alkaloids</h2> <p>Some <i>Desmodium</i> species have formerly been known to contain high amounts of <a href="/facts/Tryptamine/5G31m4BT">tryptamine</a> <a href="/facts/Alkaloid/m6hUXohz">alkaloids</a>, but many of the tryptamine-containing species have since been transferred to other genera.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="taxonomy-and-systematics">Taxonomy and systematics</h2> <p>The <a href="/facts/Taxonomy_(biology)/Qkg8wuyw">taxonomy</a> and <a href="/facts/Systematics/fagPXIkh">systematics</a> of the many dozens of <i>Desmodium</i> <a href="/facts/Species/oDg6b96r">species</a> are confusing and unresolved. Related genera such as <i><a href="/facts/Codariocalyx/oGHjFezJ">Codariocalyx</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Hylodesmum/W8dwalWM">Hylodesmum</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Lespedeza/6ag4ccXl">Lespedeza</a></i>, <i><a href="/facts/Ohwia/KLqReKIz">Ohwia</a></i>, and <i><a href="/facts/Phyllodium/vRED9jw9">Phyllodium</a></i> were and sometimes still are included in <i>Desmodium</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>Taxonomic authorities commonly disagree about the naming and placement of species. For example, <i>Desmodium spirale</i> as described by <a href="/facts/August_Grisebach/WpNmIy8K">August Grisebach</a> might refer to a distinct species, but its validity is doubtful. The "<i>Desmodium spirale</i>" of other authorities may refer to <i>D. neomexicanum</i>, <i>D. ospriostreblum</i>, or <i>D. procumbens</i>. Similarly, the plant originally described as <i>D. podocarpum</i> by <a href="/facts/A._P._de_Candolle/IlF5waCe">A. P. de Candolle</a> is <i>Hylodesmum podocarpum</i> today, but "<i>Desmodium podocarpum</i>" might also refer to <i>D. hookerianum</i> or <i>Hylodesmum laxum</i>, depending on the taxonomic authority.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h3>Selected species</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/List_of_Desmodium_species/CdALSFLo">List of Desmodium species</a></p> <p>Species include:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_acanthocladum/Vy9GGd5M">Desmodium acanthocladum</a></i> F.Muell.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_canadense/ukEnyvWq">Desmodium canadense</a></i> (L.) DC. – showy tick-trefoil, Canadian tick-trefoil</li> <li><i>Desmodium canescens</i> (L.) DC. – hoary tick-trefoil</li> <li><i>Desmodium ciliare</i> (Muhl.) DC. – hairy small-leaved tick-trefoil</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_cuspidatum/xEQB0Gcn">Desmodium cuspidatum</a></i> (Muhl.) Loudon – toothed tick-trefoil, large-bracted tick-trefoil</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_fernaldii/lgMk9mDv">Desmodium fernaldii</a></i> B.G.Schub.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_glabellum/lvlKBM4S">Desmodium glabellum</a></i> (Michx.) DC.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Desmodium_%25C3%2597_humifusum/5uF7hb0p"><i>Desmodium</i> × <i>humifusum</i></a> (Muhl. ex Bigelow) Beck </li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_illinoense/nWRGaEcW">Desmodium illinoense</a></i> A.Gray – Illinois tick-trefoil</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_incanum/W686926F">Desmodium incanum</a></i> (Sw.) DC. – creeping beggarweed, Spanish tick-trefoil, Kaimi clover</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_intortum/slP8E20U">Desmodium intortum</a></i> Greenleaf desmodium, kuru vine, beggarlice, tick clovers</li> <li><i>Desmodium lineatum</i> (Michx.) DC. – linear-leaved tick-trefoil</li> <li><i>Desmodium marilandicum</i> (L.) DC. – smooth small-leaved tick-trefoil</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_molliculum/86lszfMc">Desmodium molliculum</a></i> (Kunth) DC.</li> <li><i>Desmodium ospriostreblum</i> Chiov.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_paniculatum/TA01yPV0">Desmodium paniculatum</a></i> (L.) DC. – panicled tick-trefoil</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_perplexum/6LcVMJh8">Desmodium perplexum</a></i> B.G.Schub. – perplexed tick-trefoil</li> <li><i>Desmodium rotundifolium</i> DC. – round-leaved tick-trefoil, dollar leaf</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_sessilifolium/DvJoaE5a">Desmodium sessilifolium</a></i> (Torr. ex M.A.Curtis) Torr. & A.Gray</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_tortuosum/qbxV5awt">Desmodium tortuosum</a></i> (Sw.) DC.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_triflorum/T2w3wbKk">Desmodium triflorum</a></i> (L.) DC.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_tweedyi/THlDYz2W">Desmodium tweedyi</a></i> Britton – Tweedy's tick-trefoil</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_uncinatum/SEofLocV">Desmodium uncinatum</a></i> (Jacq.) DC.– silver-leaved tick-trefoil, silverleaf</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Desmodium_varians/QcrHmotX">Desmodium varians</a></i> (Labill.) G.Don</li></ul> <h3>Formerly placed here</h3> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/Codariocalyx_motorius/8FWXvsry">Codariocalyx motorius</a></i> – telegraph plant (as <i>D. gyrans</i>, <i>D. motorium</i>, <i>D. roylei</i>)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Dendrolobium_triangulare/gjUaxfU3">Dendrolobium triangulare</a></i> (as <i>D. Desmodium umbellatum</i> Moritz.)</li> <li><i>Dendrolobium umbellatum</i> (as <i>D. umbellatum</i> (L.) Benth. )</li> <li><i>Grona heterocarpos</i> (as <i>D. heterocarpon</i> (Michx.) DC.)</li> <li><i>Hylodesmum laxum</i> (as <i>D. laxum</i> DC.) <ul><li><i>Hylodesmum laxum</i> ssp. <i>laxum</i> (as <i>D. austro-japonense</i>, <i>D. bambusetorum</i>, <i>D. gardneri</i> auct. <i>non</i> Benth., <i>D. laxiflorum</i> <i>sensu</i> Miq., <i>D. laxum</i> var. <i>kiusianum</i>, <i>D. laxum</i> ssp. <i>laxum</i>, <i>D. podocarpum</i> auct. <i>non</i> DC. <i>non</i> Hook. & Arn., <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC. var. <i>gardneri</i> <i>sensu</i> Bedd., <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC. var. <i>laxum</i>)</li></ul></li> <li><i>Hylodesmum leptopus</i> (as <i>D. gardneri</i> Benth., <i>D. laxum</i> auct. <i>non</i> DC., <i>D. laxum</i> ssp. <i>leptopus</i>, <i>D. leptopus</i>, <i>D. tashiroi</i>)</li> <li><i>Hylodesmum podocarpum</i> (as <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC., <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC. var. <i>indicum</i>, <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC. var. <i>japonicum</i>) <ul><li><i>Hylodesmum podocarpum</i> ssp. <i>oxyphyllum</i> (as <i>D. fallax</i> var. <i>mandshuricum</i>, <i>D. japonicum</i>, <i>D. mandshuricum</i>, <i>D. oxyphyllum</i> DC., <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC. var. <i>mandshuricum</i>, <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC. ssp./var. <i>oxyphyllum</i>, <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC. var. <i>polyphyllum</i>, <i>D. podocarpum</i> DC. var. <i>typicum</i>, <i>D. racemosum</i>)</li></ul></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Lespedeza_thunbergii/71smCdrV">Lespedeza thunbergii</a></i> (as <i>D. formosum</i>, <i>D. thunbergii</i>)</li></ul> <ul><li><ul><li><i>Lespedeza thunbergii</i> var. <i>thunbergii</i> (as <i>D. penduliflorum</i> Oudem.)</li></ul></li> <li><i>Maekawaea macrocarpa</i> (as <i>D. macrocarpum</i>)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Maekawaea_rhytidophylla/MlK8xamu">Maekawaea rhytidophylla</a></i> (as <i>D. rhytidophyllum</i>)</li> <li><i>Maekawaea tenax</i> (as <i>D. tenax</i>)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Ohwia_caudata/KLqReKIz">Ohwia caudata</a></i> (as <i>D. caudatum</i>)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Phyllodium_pulchellum/GrILo7Nh">Phyllodium pulchellum</a></i> (as <i>D. pulchellum</i>)</li></ul> <ul><li>International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005): <a href="http://www.ildis.org/">Genus <i>Desmodium</i></a>. Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2007-DEC-17.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Desmodium. <a href="/facts/Wikispecies/b2GhA7Le">Wikispecies</a> has information related to <i>Desmodium</i>. <ul><li>Trout, K. (2002). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050831103118/http://trout.yage.net/sc/D2_2004_Trout.pdf">Trout's Notes on the Genus <i>Desmodium</i>.</a> Mydriatic Productions. Better Days Publishing.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Desmodium (Beggarlice, Beggars Lice, Hitch Hikers, Tick's Clover, Tick-trefoil) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". <a href="https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/desmodium/#:~:text=Desmodium%20spp.%2C%20commonly%20known%20as,soil%20fertility%20via%20nitrogen%20fixation" target="_blank">https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/desmodium/#:~:text=Desmodium%20spp.%2C%20commonly%20known%20as,soil%20fertility%20via%20nitrogen%20fixation</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Desmodium Desv". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 August 2023. <a href="https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331550-2" target="_blank">https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331550-2</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"The Plant Encyclopedia - Desmodium". The Plant Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 January 2014. <a href="http://www.theplantencyclopedia.org/wiki/Desmodium" target="_blank">http://www.theplantencyclopedia.org/wiki/Desmodium</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"The Plant Encyclopedia - Desmodium". The Plant Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 January 2014. <a href="http://www.theplantencyclopedia.org/wiki/Desmodium" target="_blank">http://www.theplantencyclopedia.org/wiki/Desmodium</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Plants Profile for Desmodium (ticktrefoil)". plants.usda.gov. <a href="https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=desmo" target="_blank">https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=desmo</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Know Your Deer Plants: Beggar's Lice - Quality Deer Management Association". 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200814112536/https://www.qdma.com/know-deer-plants-beggars-lice/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20200814112536/https://www.qdma.com/know-deer-plants-beggars-lice/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"The Plant Encyclopedia - Desmodium". The Plant Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 January 2014. <a href="http://www.theplantencyclopedia.org/wiki/Desmodium" target="_blank">http://www.theplantencyclopedia.org/wiki/Desmodium</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>ILDIS (2005) <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>ILDIS (2005) <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Desmodium Desv". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 August 2023. <a href="https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331550-2" target="_blank">https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331550-2</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>ILDIS (2005) <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Pires Lima LC, de Queiroz LP, de Azevedo Tozzi AMG, Lewis GP (2014). "A Taxonomic Revision of Desmodium (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae) in Brazil". Phytotaxa. 169 (1): 1–119. Bibcode:2014Phytx.169....1L. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.169.1.1. <a href="http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.169.1.1" target="_blank">http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.169.1.1</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>