Taxon: Desmodium intortum (Mill.) Urb.

Summary

Genus:

Desmodium

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Desmodieae

Subtribe:

Desmodiinae

Nomen number:

13644

Place of publication:

Symb. antill. 8:292. 1920 Feb 1 (Fawcett & Rendle, Fl. jam. 4:34. 1920 Mar 25)

Verified:

10/28/1988 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

34 (15 active, 13 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Hedysarum intortum Mill.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Desmodium hjalmarsonii (Schindl.) Standl.
Meibomia hjalmarsonii Schindl.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Correa, J. E. & H. Y. Bernal. 1992. Especies vegetales promisorias de los paises del Convenio Andres Bello. 8:201-219.
Duke, J. A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Kearney, T. H. & R. H. Peebles. 1969. Arizona flora, ed. 2.
Liogier, H. A. & L. F. Martorell. 1982. Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis.
Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. 1936-. Flora of Peru Note: 1936-1971; new ser. 1980-
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
Ohashi, H. 1988. Desmodium (Leguminosae) of the Hawaiian islands. Sci. Rep. Tohoku Imp. Univ., Ser. 4, Biol. 39:181.
Pittier, H. F. et al. 1945-1947. Catálogo de la flora venezolana.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and flora of the Sonoran desert.
Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Steyermark, J. A. & O. Huber. 1978. Flora del Avila.
't Mannetje, L. & R. M. Jones, eds. 1992. Forages. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 4:114.
Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223. Note: mentions
Verdcourt, B. 1979. A manual of New Guinea legumes. Note: introduced
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	beggar-lice	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	green-leaf desmodium	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	green-leaf tick trefoil	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
French	desmodie	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	grünes Desmodium	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	amor seco	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	desmodio verde	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	pega pega	2	't Mannetje, L. & R. M. Jones, eds. 1992. Forages. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 4:114.
Transcribed Chinese	niu qu shan ma huang	2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Hispaniola
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Azuay		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Bolívar		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Carchi		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Chimborazo		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Cotopaxi		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Esmeraldas		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Guayas		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Imbabura		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Loja		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Los Ríos		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Manabí		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Morona Santiago		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Napo		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Pastaza		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Pichincha		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Tungurahua		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Zamora Chinchipe		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru
4	Naturalized					natzd. elsewhere

Native
Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Nuevo León, Sonora]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola, Jamaica, United States [Puerto Rico]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Venezuela
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Ecuador [Azuay, Bolívar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Esmeraldas, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Ríos, Manabí, Morona Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Tungurahua, Zamora Chinchipe], Peru

Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:743.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	forage		't Mannetje, L. & R. M. Jones, eds. 1992. Forages. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 4:114.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=13644. Accessed 15 April 2026.