Naked Tick-trefoil
Desmodium nudiflorum
Found in moist to dry forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1 foot–3 feet 4 inches
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Summer
- Fruiting season
- August to October
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 43 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 89 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Bewick's WrenThryomanes bewickii
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
Who uses this plant?
27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Desmodium
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-spotted Skipper
- Aristotelia roseosuffusellaPink-Washed Aristotelia
- Brenthia pavonacellaPeacock Brenthia Moth
- Caloptilia violacellaTick-Trefoil Caloptilia
- Cecropterus bathyllusSouthern Cloudywing
- Cecropterus dorantesDorantes Longtail, Lilac-Banded Longtail
- Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Coelostathma discopunctanaThe Batman Moth
Show all 27
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
- Dasylophia anguinaBlack-Spotted Prominent
- Eurema dairaBarred Yellow, Barred Sulphur
- Exelastis pumilioDwarf Plume Moth
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Omiodes indicataBean-Leaf Webworm Moth
- Orphanostigma haemorrhoidalisLantana Leaftier
- Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Stenoptilodes taprobanesNarrow Plume Moth
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Triclonella pergandeellaSweetclover Root Borer, Bush-Clover Triclonella
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- 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
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Pink or purple
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Flower color · “Pink or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1 foot–3 feet 4 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox differs)
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Desmodium nudiflorum; Naked Tick Trefoil; tick trefoil; tick-trefoil
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Mississippi occurrence source
- 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