Pointedleaf Tick-trefoil

Desmodium glutinosum

Native to South Carolina (estimated)

Hylodesmum glutinosum — flower photograph — (c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph · iNaturalist medium image; no additional crop, retouching, or re-encoding.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including SC

Genus host records with ranges including SC · 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 27

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
Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
Triclonella pergandeellaSweetclover Root Borer, Bush-Clover Triclonella
Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
Anarsioses aberrans
Cosmopterix lespedezae
Grapholita fana
Porphyrosela desmodiella

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

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

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Fabaceae
Flower color: Pink or purple

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Flower color · “Pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “1–4 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
Light · “Partial shade; Full shade (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Desmodium glutinosum; Heart Leaf Tick Trefoil; Pointed Tick Trefoil; Pointedleaf Tick trefoil; tick trefoil; tick-trefoil

Conservation status

South Carolina rank	Not available
Global rank	G5
SC status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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