Fabaceae

Showy tick-trefoil

Desmodium canadense (L.) DC.

Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Desmodium

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Common names

By language (4)

Chinese: 美洲山蚂蝗
English: Showy tick-trefoil, Showy ticktrefoil, Canada tick-clover, Canada tick-trefoil, Canada tickclover, Canadian tick-trefoil, Showy tick trefoil
French: Desmodie du Canada
Swedish: Lusväppling

Synonyms

Desmodium canadense var. minus Hook.
Edusaron canadense (L.) Medik.
Hedysarum canadense L.
Hedysarum canadensis L.
Hedysarum scabrum Moench
Meibomia canadensis Kuntze
Pleurolobus canadensis (L.) MacMill.

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

Photo: peganum from Henfield, England, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Kat Youngren, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: peganum from Small Dole, England, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: aliadurfee, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Joshua Mayer from Madison, WI, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Bob Arnold, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Ayotte, Gilles, 1948-, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Terrence A, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Ayotte, Gilles, 1948-, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: cschoepp2438, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Ayotte, Gilles, 1948-, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Bruce Casner, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF

More in Desmodium

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.