Taxon: Desmodium tortuosum (Sw.) DC.

Summary

Genus:

Desmodium

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Desmodieae

Subtribe:

Desmodiinae

Nomen number:

13679

Place of publication:

Prodr. 2:332. 1825

Verified:

02/24/1987 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

57 (46 active, 45 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Basionym
Hedysarum tortuosum Sw.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Meibomia tortuosa (Sw.) Kuntze

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Desmodium purpureum (Mill.) Fawc. & Rendle
Desmodium stipulaceum DC.
Hedysarum purpureum Mill.
Meibomia purpurea (Mill.) Vail
Meibomia stipulacea (DC.) Kuntze

Images (2 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Forestry Images – from www.forestryimages.org

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Boudet, G. et al. 1986. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali
Brunel, J. F. et al., eds. 1984. Flore analytique du Togo. Phanerogames
Burkart, A. E. 1952. Las leguminosas Argentinas - silvestres y cultivadas, ed. 2.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Graham, E. H. 1941. Legumes for erosion control and wildlife. USDA Misc. Publ. 412.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Lewis, G. P. 1987. Legumes of Bahia
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
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-
Ohashi, H. 1988. Desmodium (Leguminosae) of the Hawaiian islands. Sci. Rep. Tohoku Imp. Univ., Ser. 4, Biol. 39:186.
Oliveira, M. de L. A. A. de. 1983. Estudo taxonômico do gênero Desmodium Desv. (Leguminosae, Faboideae, Desmodieae). Iheringia, Bot. 31:71.
Pittier, H. F. et al. 1945-1947. Catálogo de la flora venezolana.
Pulle, A. A. et al., eds. 1932-. Flora of Suriname.
Schrire, B. D. 1988. A synopsis of the tribe Desmodieae (Fabaceae) in southern Africa. Bothalia 18:14.
Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Verdcourt, B. 1974. Summary of the Leguminosae - Papilionoideae - Hedysareae (sensu lato) of Flora Zambesiaca. Kirkia 9:526.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	beggarweed	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	Florida beggarweed	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Portuguese (Brazil)	amor-seco	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	carrapicho-beiço-de-boi	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	esmódio	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	pega-pega	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California Sur		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Zacatecas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	North Carolina
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Aguascalientes		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guanajuato		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
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. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
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. 87:744.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	West Indies
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	Southern South America	Argentina	Salta
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru
4	Naturalized					natzd. elsewhere

Native
Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Baja California Sur]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: West Indies
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina [Salta]

Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)

Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:744.
Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder		Burkart, A. E. 1952. Las leguminosas Argentinas - silvestres y cultivadas, ed. 2.
Weed			Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia

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=13679. Accessed 17 April 2026.