Index / Search / Desmodium triflorum

§1 Plant

Desmodium triflorum (L.) DC.

vernacular threeflower ticktrefoil — species · Fabaceae


USDA
DETR4
GBIF
10734509 syn.
Rank
species
threeflower ticktrefoil (Desmodium triflorum)
Platephotograph · no rights reservedCC0 · public domain source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Fabaceae Lindl.
Genus
Desmodium
§2a

Native status, by region

  • HI Hawaii Introduced
  • L48 Lower 48 States Introduced
  • PB Pacific Basin (except Hawaii) Introduced
  • PR Puerto Rico Native
  • VI U.S. Virgin Islands Native
§2b

County-level range

· 38 counties across 2 states/territories
Legend Native · 0 Introduced · 38 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
Medium
Fire
None
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
Hedging
High
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
16 °F minimum
Frost-free days
294 min.
Precipitation
17–70 in/yr
pH range
5–6
Root depth
12 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Lifespan
Short
Mature height
1 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Moderate
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Purple
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
Low
Toxicity
Slight
§3d

Reproduction

Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
465,466
Propagation
seed
§3e

Use & availability

Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
Yes
Protein potential
High
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 38 counties across 2 states/territories.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/DETR4 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/10734509 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T05:06:36Z