Desmodium axillare(Sw.) DC.

zarzabacoa de monte

WFO wfo-0000184231 Accepted WFO 2026-06 7 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–g · 4 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 4 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Desmodium axillare, photographed by Lena Struwe
fig. a Lena Struwe, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2015-03-12 / obs. 1912083
Desmodium axillare, photographed by Lena Struwe
fig. b Lena Struwe, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 1912085
Desmodium axillare, photographed by Joseph Hubbard
fig. c Joseph Hubbard, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 143452601
Desmodium axillare, photographed by Joseph Hubbard
fig. d Joseph Hubbard, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 143453166
Desmodium axillare, photographed by Lena Struwe
fig. e Lena Struwe, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 1912084
Desmodium axillare, photographed by ritirene
fig. f ritirene, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 169972144
Desmodium axillare, photographed by ritirene
fig. g ritirene, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 169972150

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 34 botanical countries

Regions where Desmodium axillare is native: Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela Leeward Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Desmodium axillare, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Belize BLZ SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Mexico Central MXC NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 35 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Desmodium axillare f. robustius Urb.
  • Desmodium axillare var. acutifolium (Kuntze) Urb.
  • Desmodium axillare var. angustatum Urb.
  • Desmodium axillare var. axillare
  • Desmodium axillare var. genuinum Urb.
  • Desmodium axillare var. obtusifoliola (Kuntze) Urb.
  • Desmodium axillare var. sintenisii Urb.
  • Desmodium axillare var. stoloniferum (Rich. ex Poir.) B.G.Schub.
  • Desmodium oblongifolium DC.
  • Desmodium radicans Macfad.
  • Desmodium reptans (Poir.) G.Don
  • Desmodium spirale var. stoloniferum (Rich. ex Poir.) DC.
  • Desmodium stoloniferum (Rich. ex Poir.) Steud.
  • Hedysarum axillare Sw.
  • Hedysarum oblongifolium Bertero ex DC.
  • Hedysarum reptans Poir.
  • Hedysarum stoloniferum Rich. ex Poir.
  • Hedysarum violaceum Vell.
  • Meibomia albida S.F.Blake
  • Meibomia andina Rusby
  • Meibomia axillaris (Sw.) Kuntze
  • Meibomia axillaris var. acutifolia Kuntze
  • Meibomia axillaris var. obtusifoliola Kuntze
  • Meibomia prorepens S.F.Blake

and 11 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.