Desmodium Species, Illinois Tick Trefoil

The flowers attract long-tongued bees primarily, which collect pollen. This includes bumblebees and large Leaf-Cutting bees. The caterpil...Read Morelars of two skippers, Thorybes pylades (Northern Cloudywing) and Thorybes bathyllus (Southern Cloudywing), feed on the foliage of this and other Tick Trefoils. The seeds are eaten by some upland gamebirds and small rodents, including the Bobwhite, Wild Turkey, and White-Footed Mouse. The foliage is palatable to mammalian herbivores, and consumed by deer, rabbits, groundhogs, and livestock.

This plant is native to the U.S. and grows throughout the Midwest region of the country.