Desmodium scorpiurus(Sw.) Poir.

scorpion ticktrefoil

WFO wfo-0000177430 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Desmodium scorpiurus, photographed by Casey H. Richart
fig. a Casey H. Richart, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-04-24 / obs. 194512994
Desmodium scorpiurus, photographed by 葉子
fig. b 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 135260052
Desmodium scorpiurus, photographed by 葉子
fig. c 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 124527744
Desmodium scorpiurus, photographed by 葉子
fig. d 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 115052297
Desmodium scorpiurus, photographed by 葉子
fig. e 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 105132334
Desmodium scorpiurus, photographed by S.MORE
fig. f S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 108795541
Desmodium scorpiurus, photographed by Ben Machado
fig. g Ben Machado, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 176500633
Desmodium scorpiurus, photographed by elawrey
fig. h elawrey, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 51389097

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 36 botanical countries

Regions where Desmodium scorpiurus is native: Arizona, Florida, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Aruba, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, 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, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. ArizonaFloridaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela ArubaLeeward Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Desmodium scorpiurus, 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
Aruba ARU SOUTHERN AMERICA
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
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
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
Florida FLA
Mexico Central MXC
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 13 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 akoense Hayata
  • Desmodium arenarium Kunth
  • Desmodium cinereum Poepp. ex Griseb.
  • Desmodium multicaule DC.
  • Desmodium parviflorum M.Martens & Galeotti
  • Desmodium virgatum Desv.
  • Hedysarum ramosum Willd. ex Steud.
  • Hedysarum scorpiurus Sw.
  • Meibomia arenaria (Kunth) Kuntze
  • Meibomia martensii Kuntze
  • Meibomia multicaulis (DC.) Kuntze
  • Meibomia scorpiurus (Sw.) Kuntze
  • Nissoloides cylindrica M.E.Jones

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.