Wildflower (forb) · Fabaceae
Threeflower ticktrefoil
Desmodium triflorum
In this build, threeflower ticktrefoil is not on any county’s main native list.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
Threeflower ticktrefoil at a glance
- Native in
- 0 counties, across 0 states and territories
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 9a PLANTS minimum temperature 16°F
- Mature height
- 1 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Sun to part shade Moisture use not recorded
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 9a. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of 16°F; zone 9a winters bottom out at 20°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
In this build, threeflower ticktrefoil is not on any county’s main native list.
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
- 1 ft
- Growth rate
- Not recorded
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Shape
- Prostrate
- Lifespan
- Short
- Active growth period
- Summer
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Intermediate (sun to part shade)
- Moisture use
- Not recorded
- Drought tolerance
- High
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- None
- Precipitation range
- 17 to 70 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Coarse
- pH range
- 5 to 6
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- Not recorded
- Salinity tolerance
- None
- Fertility requirement
- Medium
- Minimum root depth
- 12 in
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- 16°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 9a and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 294
- Fire tolerance
- None
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- Purple
- Showy flowers
- No
- Bloom period
- Not recorded
- Foliage color
- Green
- Showy in fall
- No
- Keeps leaves
- No
- Fruit color
- Not recorded
Other
- Toxicity
- Slight
- Nitrogen fixation
- Low
- Nursery availability
- Not recorded
- Family
- Fabaceae
- PLANTS symbol
- DETR4
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 triflorum (PLANTS symbol DETR4).
- 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