Narrow-leaved Tick Trefoil
Desmodium paniculatum var. paniculatum

Height: 2-3 ft
Spread: 1-2 ft
Bloom Time: June-September
Sunlight: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium, Dry, Very Dry
Life Cycle: Perennial
​
Narrow-leaved Tick Trefoil produces stalks of bright pink flowers during the summer months. The leaflets are long and narrow, growing in groups of threes. As a member of the pea family, this species roots help to fix nitrogen into the soil for other native plants growing nearby. The flowers are used a pollen source for various bees, including leaf-cutting bees and bumble bees. Caterpillars of many different butterflies use Narrow-leaved Tick Trefoil as a host plant: Gray Hairstreaks, Silver-spotted Skippers, Hoary Edge Skippers, Eastern Tailed Blues, and more.