Showy Tick Trefoil
Desmodium canadense
Showy tick trefoil is a tall prairie legume with bright rose-purple pea flowers loved by bumblebees, fixing nitrogen and hosting many skipper and hairstreak larvae. Its velcro-like seeds hitch rides on passersby.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 3–5 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- pink, purple
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, hummingbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~23 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border
- Native states
- CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV