Scientific Family
Fabaceae
Other common names
rose tickclover
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Similar species
Desmodium neomexicanum
Height
8 inches
Riparian
No
Stems are erect or slightly curving. Solid stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy with hooked hairs or prickles.
Fruit pods of 1 - 4 rounded segments, that are not contorted, unlike D. neomexicanum.
Habitat
Found often in grasslands and on slopes and mesas.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
6500
Flower Characteristics
Bracts very small or absent. Flowers are bilaterally symetrical in one plain. The calyx is 2-lipped or 2-lobed and hairy. Petals are
separate and clawed. Corolla is butterfly-like and ovoid.
Flower color
Whitish-pink to purple
Flower shape
Irregular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
August
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are trifoliolate with narrow leaflets up to 1-1/2 inches long and about 1/4 of an inch wide. Leaflets have hairs on the margins but otherwise nearly hairless. Leaflets are opposite.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
Yes
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Has 1 to 4 rounded segments all less than 1/4 of an inch long. Segments are nearly free of hairs, not contorted and with flat margins. Pods have hairs on the edges but otherwise nearly hairless. Changes color from green to brown.
Fruit type
Pod
Fruit color
Brown
Seeds are smooth and ovoid to rounded in outline. Seeds olive, brown, or black.