Desmodium procumbens(Mill.) C.L.Hitchc.

western trailing ticktrefoil

WFO wfo-0000177311 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 3 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 3 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 procumbens, photographed by Carlos Martorell
fig. a Carlos Martorell, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-09-30 / obs. 204220246
Desmodium procumbens, photographed by Carlos Martorell
fig. b Carlos Martorell, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 204220259
Desmodium procumbens, photographed by Carlos Martorell
fig. c Carlos Martorell, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 204475106
Desmodium procumbens, photographed by Carlos Martorell
fig. d Carlos Martorell, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 204220264
Desmodium procumbens, photographed by Carlos Martorell
fig. e Carlos Martorell, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 53915672
Desmodium procumbens, photographed by Carlos Martorell
fig. f Carlos Martorell, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 204475145
Desmodium procumbens, photographed by Carlos Martorell
fig. g Carlos Martorell, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 204475126
Desmodium procumbens, photographed by Carlos Martorell
fig. h Carlos Martorell, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 53915665

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 38 botanical countries

Regions where Desmodium procumbens is native: Arizona, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, New Mexico, Texas, Argentina Northwest, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Galápagos, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. ArizonaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestNew MexicoTexasArgentina NorthwestBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorGuatemalaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela ArubaGalápagosLeeward Is.Netherlands AntillesVenezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Desmodium procumbens, 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
Argentina Northwest AGW SOUTHERN AMERICA
Aruba ARU
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
Galápagos GAL
Guatemala GUA
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
New Mexico NWM
Texas TEX

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 53 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.

  • Cyclomorium caracasanum Walp.
  • Desmodium annuum A.Gray
  • Desmodium aparines Hassk.
  • Desmodium bigelovii A.Gray
  • Desmodium chamissonis Vogel
  • Desmodium exigum A.Gray
  • Desmodium humile (Schindl.) Burkart
  • Desmodium lilloanum (Schindl.) Burkart
  • Desmodium neomexicanum A.Gray
  • Desmodium neomexicanum var. bigelovii (A.Gray) S.Watson
  • Desmodium neomexicanum var. glabellum A.Gray
  • Desmodium parvum (Schindl.) Standl.
  • Desmodium procumbens f. quinquefolium Standl.
  • Desmodium procumbens var. longipes (Schindl.) B.G.Schub.
  • Desmodium procumbens var. typicum B.G.Schub.
  • Desmodium spirale DC.
  • Desmodium spirale var. annuum (A.Gray) B.L.Rob. & Greenm.
  • Desmodium spirale var. bigelovii (A.Gray) B.L.Rob. & Greenm.
  • Desmodium spirale var. bigelovii (A.Gray) Robinson & Greenm.
  • Desmodium spirale var. exiguum (A.Gray) B.L.Rob. & Greenm.
  • Desmodium spirale var. transversum B.L.Rob. & Greenm.
  • Desmodium spirale var. transversum Robinson & Greenm.
  • Desmodium sprengelii D.Dietr.
  • Desmodium sylvaticum Benth.

and 29 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.