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Desmodium canadense - (image 1 of 6)

Taxonomy

Family: Fabaceae

Habitat

Moist to dry prairies, thickets, river banks.

Associates

Andropogon gerardii, Baptisia leucantha, Comandra umbellata, Coreopsis tripteris, Euphorbia corollata, Heuchera richardsonii, Liatris spicata, Monarda fistulosa, Petalostemum purpureum, Phlox pilosa, Pycnanthemum virginianum, Ratibisa pinnata, Rudbeckia hirta, Silphium integrifolium, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Smilacina stellata, Solidago rigida, Sporobolus heterolepsis, Stipa spartea, Tradescantia ohiensis.

Distribution

Quebec and Nova Scotia west to Alberta, south to MD, WV, MO, and OK.

Morphology

Erect perennial to 2 m high. Leaves pinnate compound; leaflets 3, entire, to 9 cm long. Flowers more than 6mm long; calyx tubular, more than 3mm long, lobes well developed and at least half as long as the tube; auricles more than 2. Fruit a loment (pod) hairy with 3 to 5 segments.

Notes

Flowers late June to mid September

Wetland indicator: Facultative -

Often found growing along paths cutting through prairies. The segments of the fruit adhere quite readily to clothing.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

Niering, W. A. 1979. The Audubon society field guide to North American wildflowers: eastern region.
Knopf/Random House, New York.

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

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