Photographs are not available yet.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY
Genus host records with ranges including KY · Desmodium
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-spotted Skipper
- Aristotelia roseosuffusellaPink-Washed Aristotelia
- Brenthia pavonacellaPeacock Brenthia Moth
- Caloptilia violacellaTick-Trefoil Caloptilia
- Cecropterus bathyllusSouthern Cloudywing
- Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Coelostathma discopunctanaThe Batman Moth
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
Show all 21
- Dasylophia anguinaBlack-Spotted Prominent
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Anarsioses aberrans
- Cosmopterix lespedezae
- Porphyrosela desmodiella
15BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Desmodium
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Desmodium
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Spreads to form colonies
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “White” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads to form colonies” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 4 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Perplexed Tick Trefoil; Perplexed Tick trefoil
Conservation status
| Kentucky rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| KY status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
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Sources
- tnky_atlas
- usda
- nc_flora
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications