Tick-trefoil, or Desmodium illinoense, is a native perennial legume that brings delicate prairie charm to the garden with its showy white pea-like flowers blooming from June through August. Growing 2 to 5 feet tall depending on conditions, this spindly native thrives in full sun across hardiness zones 4 through 8, making it an excellent choice for naturalized plantings and dry areas. As a nitrogen-fixing member of the fabaceae family, it improves soil while asking very little in return, and its trifoliolate leaves and loose terminal flower clusters attract pollinators throughout the summer.
Full Sun
Moderate
4-8
60in H x 24in W
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Low
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Tick-trefoil produces stunning white flowers on unbranched, hairy stems that rise above delicate trifoliolate foliage, creating an airy, naturalistic presence in the landscape. The plant thrives in average, dry to medium soils and freely self-seeds when conditions suit it, essentially establishing itself once introduced. Low maintenance and drought tolerant once established, it requires full sun and moderate water, making it well adapted to prairie gardens and challenging dry spots where many ornamentals struggle.
Tick-trefoil is used primarily for naturalization in prairie plantings and native plant gardens, where its self-seeding habit and low maintenance requirements allow it to establish freely. The plant's ability to fix nitrogen in the soil also benefits surrounding plantings, while its flowers provide nectar and pollen for native insects and pollinators throughout the summer months.
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“Desmodium illinoense is primarily documented from Missouri's prairies and glades, where it grows as part of the native plant community. Though sometimes considered weedy due to its prolific self-seeding habit, this species represents an important thread in the native prairie ecosystem and has been recognized and documented through botanical surveys like those conducted in Missouri by botanists including Steyermark.”