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Cream Tick-trefoil

Desmodium ochroleucum

Found in dry woodlands and barrens, especially over calcareous substrates. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

68
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
June to August
Fruiting season
August to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

Recorded in 11 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 73 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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 23
  • Dasylophia anguinaBlack-Spotted Prominent
  • Exelastis pumilioDwarf Plume Moth
  • 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
  • Triclonella pergandeellaSweetclover Root Borer, Bush-Clover Triclonella
  • Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
  • 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)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Flower color
White
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
October
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “June to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Fruit begins · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Cream Tick Trefoil; White Tick Trefoil

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG2G3
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources