Wildflower (forb) · Fabaceae
Panicledleaf ticktrefoil
Desmodium paniculatum · includes its varieties and subspecies
Panicledleaf ticktrefoil is recorded as native to 23 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 942 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
Panicledleaf ticktrefoil at a glance
- Native in
- 942 counties, across 23 states and territories
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 6a PLANTS minimum temperature −13°F
- Mature height
- 3 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Sun to part shade Low water use
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 6a. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of −13°F; zone 6a winters bottom out at −10°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
Panicledleaf ticktrefoil is recorded as native to 23 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 942 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Counties where it is native
The 15 counties with the most ZIP codes among the 942 where it is listed.
Native counties by state
- Alabama 7 counties
- Arkansas 49 counties
- Delaware 3 counties
- Florida 37 counties
- Georgia 21 counties
- Illinois 75 counties
- Indiana 57 counties
- Kentucky 46 counties
- Louisiana 54 counties
- Maine 4 counties
- Massachusetts 11 counties
- Mississippi 28 counties
- New York 40 counties
- North Carolina 80 counties
- Ohio 58 counties
- Oklahoma 22 counties
- Pennsylvania 57 counties
- South Carolina 34 counties
- Tennessee 54 counties
- Texas 74 counties
- Vermont 5 counties
- Virginia 90 counties
- West Virginia 36 counties
Growing traits
Values from the PLANTS characteristics record. “Not recorded” means PLANTS has no value; nothing here is estimated except the zone.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 3 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth form
- Single Crown
- Shape
- Erect
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Active growth period
- Spring and Summer
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Intermediate (sun to part shade)
- Moisture use
- Low water use
- Drought tolerance
- Medium
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- None
- Precipitation range
- 45 to 90 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Medium and fine
- pH range
- 6 to 7
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- None
- Salinity tolerance
- None
- Fertility requirement
- Low
- Minimum root depth
- 6 in
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- −13°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 6a and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 180
- Fire tolerance
- None
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- Purple
- Showy flowers
- Yes
- Bloom period
- Late Summer
- Foliage color
- Green
- Showy in fall
- Yes
- Keeps leaves
- No
- Fruit color
- Brown
Other
- Toxicity
- None
- Nitrogen fixation
- Low
- Nursery availability
- No Known Source
- Family
- Fabaceae
- PLANTS symbol
- DEPA6
Source & data date
- Source
- USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
- Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
- USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
- Citation
- USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
- Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
- Data date
- Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
- Scope
- Desmodium paniculatum (PLANTS symbol DEPA6), including 1 variety or subspecies folded into the species.
- Method
- A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources