Desmodium
| Desmodium | |
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| Desmodium heterocarpon | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Desmodieae |
| Subtribe: | Desmodiinae |
| Genus: | Desmodium Desv. (1813), nom. cons. |
| Species | |
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Many, see text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Desmodium is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae, sometimes called tick-trefoil, tick clover, hitch hikers or beggar lice.[2] 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.[1]
Description
These are mostly inconspicuous plants; few have bright or large flowers. Though some can become sizeable plants, most are herbs or small shrubs. Their fruit are loments, meaning each seed is dispersed individually enclosed in its segment. This makes them tenacious plants and some species are considered weeds in places.
Uses
Several Desmodium species release organic compounds, aerially and into the soil, which make them useful for agriculture:
Tick-trefoils in agriculture can also be used as living mulch and as green manure, as they improve soil fertility via nitrogen fixation.
Most also make good
Wild-living, non-farmed deer appear to rely on Desmodium species in certain areas, particularly during the more stressful summer months.
The
Alkaloids
Some Desmodium species have formerly been known to contain high amounts of tryptamine alkaloids, but many of the tryptamine-containing species have since been transferred to other genera.[3]
Taxonomy and systematics
The taxonomy and systematics of the many dozens of Desmodium species are confusing and unresolved. Related genera such as Codariocalyx, Hylodesmum, Lespedeza, Ohwia, and Phyllodium were and sometimes still are included in Desmodium.[6]
Taxonomic authorities commonly disagree about the naming and placement of species. For example,
Selected species
- Desmodium acanthocladumF.Muell.
- Desmodium canadense (L.) DC. – showy tick-trefoil, Canadian tick-trefoil
- Desmodium canescens (L.) DC. – hoary tick-trefoil
- Desmodium ciliare (Muhl.) DC. – hairy small-leaved tick-trefoil
- Desmodium cuspidatum (Muhl.) Loudon – toothed tick-trefoil, large-bracted tick-trefoil
- Desmodium fernaldii B.G.Schub.
- Desmodium glabellum (Michx.) DC.
- Desmodium heterocarpon (Michx.) DC. – Asian tick-trefoil
- Desmodium × humifusum (Muhl. ex Bigelow) Beck
- Desmodium illinoense A.Gray – Illinois tick-trefoil
- Desmodium incanum (Sw.) DC. – creeping beggarweed, Spanish tick-trefoil, Kaimi clover
- Desmodium intortum Greenleaf desmodium, kuru vine, beggarlice, tick clovers
- Desmodium lineatum (Michx.) DC. – linear-leaved tick-trefoil
- Desmodium marilandicum (L.) DC. – smooth small-leaved tick-trefoil
- Desmodium molliculum (Kunth) DC.
- Desmodium ospriostreblum Chiov.
- Desmodium paniculatum (L.) DC. – panicled tick-trefoil
- Desmodium perplexum B.G.Schub. – perplexed tick-trefoil
- Desmodium rotundifolium DC. – round-leaved tick-trefoil, dollar leaf
- Desmodium sessilifolium (Torr. ex M.A.Curtis) Torr. & A.Gray
- Desmodium tortuosum (Sw.) DC.
- Desmodium triflorum(L.) DC.
- Desmodium tweedyi Britton – Tweedy's tick-trefoil
- Desmodium uncinatum (Jacq.) DC.– silver-leaved tick-trefoil, silverleaf
- Desmodium varians (Labill.) G.Don
Formerly placed here
- Codariocalyx motorius – telegraph plant (as D. gyrans, D. motorium, D. roylei)
- Dendrolobium triangulare (as D. Desmodium umbellatum Moritz.)
- Dendrolobium umbellatum (as D. umbellatum (L.) Benth. )
- Hylodesmum laxum (as D. laxum DC.)
- Hylodesmum laxum ssp. laxum (as D. austro-japonense, D. bambusetorum, D. gardneri auct. non Benth., D. laxiflorum sensu Miq., D. laxum var. kiusianum, D. laxum ssp. laxum, D. podocarpum auct. non DC. non Hook. & Arn., D. podocarpum DC. var. gardneri sensu Bedd., D. podocarpum DC. var. laxum)
- Hylodesmum leptopus (as D. gardneri Benth., D. laxum auct. non DC., D. laxum ssp. leptopus, D. leptopus, D. tashiroi)
- Hylodesmum podocarpum (as D. podocarpum DC., D. podocarpum DC. var. indicum, D. podocarpum DC. var. japonicum)
- Hylodesmum podocarpum ssp. oxyphyllum (as D. fallax var. mandshuricum, D. japonicum, D. mandshuricum, D. oxyphyllum DC., D. podocarpum DC. var. mandshuricum, D. podocarpum DC. ssp./var. oxyphyllum, D. podocarpum DC. var. polyphyllum, D. podocarpum DC. var. typicum, D. racemosum)
- Lespedeza thunbergii (as D. formosum, D. thunbergii)
- Lespedeza thunbergii var. thunbergii (as D. penduliflorum Oudem.)
- Maekawaea macrocarpa (as D. macrocarpum)
- Maekawaea rhytidophylla (as D. rhytidophyllum)
- Maekawaea tenax (as D. tenax)
- Ohwia caudata (as D. caudatum)
- Phyllodium pulchellum (as D. pulchellum)
References
- International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005): Genus Desmodium. Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2007-DEC-17.
- ^ a b c "Desmodium Desv". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ "Desmodium (Beggarlice, Beggars Lice, Hitch Hikers, Tick's Clover, Tick-trefoil) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox".
- ^ a b c "The Plant Encyclopedia - Desmodium". The Plant Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ "Plants Profile for Desmodium (ticktrefoil)". plants.usda.gov.
- ^ "Know Your Deer Plants: Beggar's Lice - Quality Deer Management Association". 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ^ a b c ILDIS (2005)
- .
External links
- Trout, K. (2002). Trout's Notes on the Genus Desmodium. Mydriatic Productions. Better Days Publishing.
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