Desmodium rotundifolium (Prostrate Ticktrefoil)

Desmodium rotundifolium

Desmodium rotundifolium DC.

Desmodium michauxii (Vail) Daniels

Meibomia michauxii Vail

Meibomia rotundifolia (DC.) Kuntze

Prostrate Ticktrefoil, Round-leaved Trailing Ticktrefoil, Dollar Leaf

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Fabales	Legumes (pea and bean families)
Family	Fabaceae	Legume family (peas and beans)
Genus	Desmodium	Fromthe Greek desmos, “bond, fetter, halter, or chain”
Species	rotundifolium	From Latinrotundus, “circular,round, or spherical;” and folium, “leaf”

About plant names...

Prostrate ticktrefoil is a North American native.

Identification: Plants are prostrate, with green or reddish stems, clambering over the ground up to 3' (1 m). Leaves are alternate, in clusters of three, on stems up to ⅜" (1 cm). The main leaflet is up to 1¾" (5 cm), almost round. The two side leaflets are about two-thirds the size of the main one, and ovate. The rounded leaf triplets and trailing stems are distinctive. Pinkish-purple flowers, pea-like in shape, are about ⅜" (1 cm) in size. They are bilaterally symmetrical, appearing from July to September. Seedpods resemble small pea pods with small hooked hairs and 3-6 seeds.

Online References:

Desmodium rotundifolium on Missouriplants.com

Desmodium rotundifolium on www-personal.umich.edu

Desmodium rotundifolium on nametheplant.net (Native & Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia)

Desmodium rotundifolium on the New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site