Panicled-Leaf Ticktrefoil is Incredibly Useful to People and Wildlife
Every fall Floridians have to spend a good bit of time removing plant seeds from our clothing. We have two types that pretty much plague us all. Those are sand spurs, which as near as I can tell have no redeeming qualities at all, and hitchhikers, which come from a plant that actually is fairly useful. Sand spurs are round seeds that are covered in sharp spines that attach themselves to all sorts of things and can be quite painful if stepped on or if they get between your clothing and skin. Hitchhikers are far less annoying. They cling to clothes like Velcro, and they can be annoying, but they aren’t usually painful.
Hitchhikers come from an interesting legume known as panicled-leaf ticktrefoil, narrow leafed ticktrefoil, or panicled tickclover (Desmodium paniculatum). It’s a native North American plant that can be found in the wild from Quebec south through Florida and west as far as Texas and Minnesota. It grows in areas of full sun to partial shade such as roadsides, pastures, meadows, abandoned fields, woods edges, lawns, and parks. Some people also cultivate it, either for use as an ornamental plant, for an animal forage, or for attracting wildlife such as butterflies and birds. It likes well drained fairly dry soil and even tolerates drought well once it is well established. It’s a perennial and like many other legumes, it is a good nitrogen fixer, so it actually enriches the soil where it grows.
As you can see, this beautiful plant has a lot of uses for people, but it also is very useful to wildlife as well. Besides being good forage for domesticated grazing animals, it also attracts quite a few wild browsers. White tailed deer frequently eat it as do several smaller browsers like cotton tailed rabbits. The flowers are extremely attractive to many of the pollinators including bumble bees, honey bees, green sweat bees, wasps, and many different butterflies. The plant itself hosts quite a few different butterfly and moth caterpillars including those of the grey hairstreak and several types of skippers. It also provides food for many types of beetles including stink bugs, aphids, and ants. Once the seeds begin to form they are also eaten by several types of wildlife including wild turkeys, quail, mice, and squirrels.
It’s easy to see that aside from having obnoxiously sticky seeds, known as lomentum, panicled leaf ticktrefoil is a pretty useful plant both for human beings and for wildlife. The pretty pink to purple flowers that bloom from late spring until early fall are great for decor and for pollinators, while the leafy green plants are a great forage for grazing and browsing animals and numerous types of insects. Even those pain in the rear seeds make great food for some animals. With all these wonderful benefits, I guess I can tolerate a few sticky seeds on my shoes and clothing!
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