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Ticktrefoil

Desmodium

Also called Tick Trefoil, Tick Clover, Tickclover, Ticktrefoils, Tick Trefoils

Ticktrefoil
Photo: Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India, CC BY-SA 4.0

Desmodium is a genus of mostly inconspicuous herbs and small shrubs in the pea family, sometimes called tick-trefoil or tick clover. Grown members are valued mainly as ground cover, living mulch, green manure and forage rather than for showy flowers.

Family
Fabaceae (Pea & bean family)
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly while establishing, then moderately; drought tolerant once settled.
Soil
Well-drained, average to poor soil; tolerates low fertility.
Temperature
18–32 °C; frost-sensitive in temperate zones.
How easy
Easy
Edible
Yes, some parts

About

Desmodium is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae, sometimes called tick-trefoil, tick clover, hitch hikers or beggar lice. There are dozens of species and the delimitation of the genus has shifted much over time. Species are distributed widely – from Quebec to northern Argentina in the Americas, across northern and southern tropical Africa, in the southern Arabian Peninsula, in Myanmar and Thailand, New Guinea, and northern and eastern Australia.

Uses

Several Desmodium species release organic compounds, aerially and into the soil, which make them useful for agriculture:

Other Desmodium plants

Showy ticktrefoil · Zarzabacoa comun · Greenleaf ticktrefoil · Scorpion ticktrefoil · Dixie ticktrefoil · Spanish Tick Clover

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Desmodium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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