Desmodium distortum(Aubl.) J.F.Macbr.

WFO wfo-0000177100 Accepted WFO 2026-06 4 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–d · 1 observation

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 1 time, 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 distortum, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. a Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-01-22 / obs. 111485814
Desmodium distortum, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. b Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 269724008
Desmodium distortum, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. c Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 269724006
Desmodium distortum, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. d Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 269724005

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 26 botanical countries

Regions where Desmodium distortum is native: Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Argentina Northeast, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestArgentina NortheastBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaEcuadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruSurinameVenezuela
Native distribution of Desmodium distortum, 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.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Ecuador ECU
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Suriname SUR
Venezuela VEN
Mexico Central MXC NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
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 24 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 asperum (Poir.) Desv.
  • Desmodium distortum var. pabulare (Hoehne) Hoehne
  • Desmodium distortum var. perrottetii (DC.) Schindl.
  • Desmodium elatum Kunth
  • Desmodium pabulare Hoehne
  • Desmodium perrottetii DC.
  • Desmodium rubiginosum Benth.
  • Desmodium spectabile Miq.
  • Desmodium stipulaceum var. macrophylla Benth.
  • Desmodium violaceum G.Don
  • Hedysarum asperum Poir.
  • Hedysarum canescens Aubl.
  • Hedysarum distortum Aubl.
  • Hedysarum giganteum J.St.-Hil. ex Desv.
  • Meibomia aspera (Poir.) Kuntze
  • Meibomia aspera var. michelii Schindl.
  • Meibomia distorta (Aubl.) Schindl.
  • Meibomia distorta var. macrophylla (Benth.) Schindl.
  • Meibomia distorta var. pabularis (Hoehne) Schindl.
  • Meibomia distorta var. perrottetii (DC.) Schindl.
  • Meibomia elata (Kunth) Kuntze
  • Meibomia matto-grossensis Hoehne
  • Meibomia pabularis (Hoehne) Hoehne
  • Meibomia violacea (G.Don) Kuntze

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. 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.