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Home / Browse / Desmodium / Hairy Small-leaf Ticktrefoil (var. ciliare)
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Pictured: Desmodium ciliare — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Fabaceae family

Hairy Small-leaf Ticktrefoil (var. ciliare) Desmodium ciliare var. ciliare variety

Native

Hairy Small-leaf Ticktrefoil (var. ciliare) is a perennial wildflower native to Canada and the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Desmodium ciliare, the hairy small-leaf ticktrefoil, is a perennial forb native to North America. It grows 0.2-1.0 meters tall, has alternate, trifoliolate compound leaves, and pink or purple flowers. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~17 caterpillar species

Desmodium supports ~17 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Desmodium in North America, including:

Achalarus lyciades · Hoary Edge Agonopterix pergandeella · concealer moth Brenthia pavonacella · Peacock Brenthia Caloptilia violacella · leaf-blotch miner moth Cosmopterix lespedezae · cosmet moth Cosmopterix magophila · cosmet moth
+ 8 more species →
Dichomeris acuminatus · twirler moth Epargyreus clarus · skipper butterfly Everes comyntas · gossamer-winged butterfly Exelastis pumilio · plume moth Grapholita fana · leafroller moth Helicoverpa zea · Corn Earworm Heliothis virescens · Tobacco Budworm Hypena scabra · Black Snout
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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