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Desmodium tenuifolium

Torr. & Gray

Slimleaf Tick-trefoil

G4Apparently Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.160687
Element CodePDFAB1D1E0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderFabales
FamilyFabaceae
GenusDesmodium
Other Common Names
slimleaf ticktrefoil (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Review Date1999-05-17
Change Date1999-05-28
Edition Date1999-05-17
Edition AuthorsB.A. Sorrie
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
Widespread but tends to be spotty. Still relatively easy to find in appropriate habitat. Probably overlooked due to similarity to other species. Probably passed over due to its presumed abundance in most states. Clear threats, but not critical except perhaps locally. Low population sizes are probably a natural phenomenon.
Range Extent Comments
Desmodium tenuifolium ranges from southeastern Virginia to central Florida to central Louisiana, strictly on the coastal plain. It can be best described as being widespread but with spotty distribution, in part due to its adaptation to fire-maintained communities. In Virginia it has been recorded from 10 counties, in Louisiana from 7 parishes. In Virginia it is currently known from 4 counties; in Louisiana currently known from 1 parish (St. Tamany).
Occurrences Comments
In proper habitat this species is relatively easy to find over the greater part of its range. For example, B.A. Sorrie has noted it in every state from North Carolina to Mississippi during miscellaneous field work. There probably are many hundreds of extant populations, although hard data are lacking. This species is tracked in Virginia only. In Virginia, there are 5 extant EOs in 4 counties: City of Suffolk, Southampton, Sussex, and York.
Threat Impact Comments
Threats center around fire suppression of its habitats and on conversion of them to pine plantations, agriculture, suburbia.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Desmodium tenuifolium occurs in perennially moist to wet habitats, but not where water stands for any length of time. Its primary habitats are those associated with longleaf pine, such as pine savannas, pine flatwoods, ecotones between dry pine-oak- wiregrass uplands and wet shrub/tree streamheads (= bayheads), ecotones between savannas or flatwoods and shrub/tree pocosins (dense shrub communities in peat with sparse tree canopy). All of these community types are subject to recurring fires which reduce woody plant competition and which provide nutrients and suitable substrates for germination. In Virginia, all current EOs occur in powerlines that intersect streamheads; the mowing or spraying (for woody plants) simulates the effect of fire. Isely (1990, cited below) states that this species also occurs in alluvial woods, but knowledgeable botanists that were consulted think this statement is erroneous. The association with high water table communities is an important point of difference between D. tenuifolium and D. strictum, which inhabits dry to xeric sites.
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
FloridaSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
VirginiaS1Yes
South CarolinaS3Yes
North CarolinaS3Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
MississippiS2Yes
Plant Characteristics
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (1)
North Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
Catfish Lake NorthCroatan National Forest11,299
References (3)
  1. Isely, D. 1990. Vascular flora of the southeastern United States. Vol. 3, Part 2. Leguminosae (Fabaceae). Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 258 pp.
  2. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  3. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp.