Hylodesmum nudiflorum

Hylodesmum nudiflorum, commonly known as naked-flowered tick-trefoil, is a perennial herb in the legume family Fabaceae native to eastern North America. The plant produces a basal rosette of trifoliate leaves with broadly ovate to rhombic leaflets that arise from a short rhizome. A distinctive feature is the leafless flowering stalk (scape) that rises 40 to 100 cm tall, well separated from the foliage, bearing a loose panicle of small pink to lavender pea-like flowers in mid to late summer. The fruit is a flattened, segmented loment with two to four hooked-bristled joints that adhere readily to clothing and animal fur for dispersal. It typically occurs in dry to moist deciduous forests, particularly oak-hickory woodlands, where it grows in dappled shade on well-drained soils. Formerly placed in the genus Desmodium, it was transferred to Hylodesmum based on molecular phylogenetic evidence.