Desmodium molliculum(Kunth) DC.

WFO wfo-0000170506 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Desmodium molliculum, photographed by Jairo Pinto
fig. a Jairo Pinto, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-03-22 / obs. 117898058
Desmodium molliculum, photographed by Steven Bodzin
fig. b Steven Bodzin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 45840141
Desmodium molliculum, photographed by Todd Boland
fig. c Todd Boland, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 109745573
Desmodium molliculum, photographed by Andrés Ramírez-Barrera
fig. d Andrés Ramírez-Barrera, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 39210384
Desmodium molliculum, photographed by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial
fig. e Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 105946438
Desmodium molliculum, photographed by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial
fig. f Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 101792628
Desmodium molliculum, photographed by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial
fig. g Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 81084452
Desmodium molliculum, photographed by Andrés Ramírez-Barrera
fig. h Andrés Ramírez-Barrera, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 41204722

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 17 botanical countries

Regions where Desmodium molliculum is native: Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Venezuela Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBoliviaColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáPeruVenezuela
Native distribution of Desmodium molliculum, 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
Bolivia BOL SOUTHERN AMERICA
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
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 8 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 adscendens var. caeruleum (Lindl.) DC.
  • Desmodium mexicanum Sweet
  • Desmodium mexicanum S.Watson
  • Hedysarum adscendens var. caeruleum Lindl.
  • Hedysarum ascendens var. caeruleum Lindl.
  • Hedysarum molliculum Kunth
  • Heteroloma lanatum Desv. ex Kunth
  • Meibomia mollicula (Kunth) 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.