Desmodium viridiflorum

Desmodium viridiflorum
Photo taken by Kevin Robertson
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae ⁄ Leguminosae
Genus:	Desmodium
Species:	D. viridiflorum
Binomial name
Desmodium viridiflorum (L.) DC.
Natural range of Desmodium viridiflorum from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: velvetleaf ticktrefoil

Description

Desmodium viridiflorum is a perennial herbaceous species.

Distribution

It is distributed widely throughout the eastern U.S. (NRCS Plants Database).

Ecology

It is a legume with a relatively high nitrogen-fixation rate and acetylene reduction rate (Hendricks et al 1999; Lajeunesse et al 2006).

Habitat

In the southeastern coastal plain it is associated with open, frequently burned longleaf, shortleaf pine-oak-hickory, loblolly pine upland native and old-field communities and open upland hardwood forests (Ultisols) (Lajeunesse et al 2006, FSU Herbarium). It occurs in both native (never plowed) areas and in old-field habitats and areas with recent soil disturbance (FSU Herbarium). It is found on loamy sands and sandy loams (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

In the southeastern coastal plain it flowers from July-September and fruits July-October (FSU Herbarium).

Fire ecology

It is noticeably more abundant in burned plots, as the density in an Oconee National Forest plot, which had no history of burning, was 28 individuals per ha while the densities in two Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge plots, which were burned in the dormant season every 4-5 years, were 2,563 and 3,953 individuals per ha (Hendricks et al 1999). Regularly burned sites are likely essential for the establishment and persistence of D. viridiflorum populations large enough to significantly affect nitrogen availability (Hendricks et al 1999). It needs to have enough moisture; in the event of a drought, water stress is suggested to contribute to loss of leaf area, which reduces the photosynthate available to maintain high nitrogen-fixation rates (Hendricks et al 1999).

References and notes

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Tom Barnes, Ritchie Bell, Boothes, Loran C. Anderson, A.F. Clewell, R.K. Godfrey, Randy Haynes, Samuel B. Jones, R. Komarek, R. Kral, T. MacCleandon, Sidney McDaniel, R. A. Norris, A.E. Radford, Cecil R. Slaughter, V. Sullivan, and J. Wooten. States and Counties: Florida: Bay, Franklin, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Putnam, Volusia, and Wakulla. Georgia: Grady and Gilmer. South Carolina: Marion. Mississippi: Hancock. Alabama: Cleburne. North Carolina: Davie.

Hendricks, J. J. and L. R. Boring (1999). "N2-fixation by native herbaceous legumes in burned pine ecosystems of the southeastern United States." Forest Ecology and Management 113: 167-177.

Lajeunesse, S. D., J. J. Dilustro, et al. (2006). "Ground layer carbon and nitrogen cycling and legume nitrogen inputs following fire in mixed pine forests." American Journal of Botany 93: 84-93.

NRCS Plants Database http://plants.usda.gov/java