Panicled tick trefoil
Desmodium paniculatum
Family: Fabaceae
What it is like
A nitrogen fixing perennial herb. As a carbon farming plant it can be used for nitrogen, as an understory legume and for fodder (bank, pasture).
Desmodium paniculatum is an evergreen Perennial growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5. It can fix Nitrogen. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
Height (m): 1
Where it is found
Moist to dry (chiefly oak) forests and savannas, clearings, shores, ravines; prairies, sandy hillsides and banks. Forest edges, forests, woodlands.
Native to eastern and southern North America
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed
Countries/locations it is found in
Native to eastern and southern North America including:Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating: 3
Carbon Farming Solutions - Agroforestry Services: nitrogen, understory legume. Fodder: bank, pasture (Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland). Attracts bees and attracts birds.
Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.
Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.
Agroforestry Services: Understory legume: Legume vegetation, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor.
Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.
Fodder: Pasture: Enclosed tracts of farmland mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs (non-grass herbaceous plants).
Management: Fodder: Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
Wild Crop: Some wild plants have strong historical or contemporary use. Although they are not cultivated crops, they may be wild-managed.
Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.
Agroforestry Services: Understory legume: Legume vegetation, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor.
Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.
Fodder: Pasture: Enclosed tracts of farmland mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs (non-grass herbaceous plants).
Management: Fodder: Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
Wild Crop: Some wild plants have strong historical or contemporary use. Although they are not cultivated crops, they may be wild-managed.
Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.
How it is grown
Climate: cold to warm temperate. Humidity: semi-arid to humid. Prefers partial sun, mesic to dry-mesic conditions, and sandy or rocky soil. Light preferences: part-sun, part-shade. Low to medium water usage with a dry to moist soil. Soil type: acid and neutral and an average to poor loam, clay, or sand. Carbon Farming Solutions - Cultivation: wild. Management: fodder (Describes the non-destructive management systems that are used in cultivation).
Propagating it: Seed germinates quickly (3-4 days) without scarification.
Best place to grow:
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 4-10
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
Other species in this genus are weedy. No information has been found for this one.
Its other names
Local names
Panicledleaf ticktrefoil, Narrow-leaf tick-trefoil, Panicled tickclover
Synonyms
Desmodium dichromum Shinners. Desmodium paniculatum var. angustifolium Torr. & A. Gray. Desmodium paniculatum var. paniculatum. Desmodium paniculatum var. pubens Torr. & A. Gray. Hedysarum paniculatum L. Meibomia chapmanii (Britton) Small. Meibomia dillenii (Darl.) Kuntze. Meibomia paniculata (L.) Kuntze. Meibomia pubens (Torr. & A. Gray) Rydb.