Illinois Tick Trefoil
Desmodium illinoense
Illinois tick trefoil is a deep-rooted, drought-tough prairie legume with pink pea flowers and jointed seed pods, a nitrogen-fixer and larval host for skippers and hairstreaks on dry ground.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 2–5 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- purple
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~23 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing
- Native states
- AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, OH, OK, SD, TX, WI