Herbs, perennial. Stems stiffly erect or ascending, branched at base and appearing clustered, 40–80 cm, glabrescent or sparsely uncinate-puberulent. Leaves unifoliolate; stip­ules caducous, narrowly ovate, 3–9 mm; petiole 10–30 mm; leaflet blades linear, (40–)70–130 × 2–5 mm, length 10+ times width, apex acute or acuminate, sur­faces uncinate-puberulent and sparsely strigose on veins abaxially, uncinate-puberulent adaxially. Inflorescences branched or unbranched; rachis sparsely uncinate-puberulent; primary bracts ovate, 2–3 mm. Pedicels 10–20 mm, uncinate-puberulent or glabrescent. Flowers: calyx 2 mm, puberulent and uncinate-puberulent, tube 0.8 mm; abaxial lobes 1.2 mm, lateral lobes 1 mm; corolla ephemeral, purple, 3 mm. Loments: margins slightly involute, sutures equally crenate; connections central, 1/4 as broad as segments; segments 3–6, broadly elliptic, (2–)3–3.5 × 2.5–3 mm, convex or rounded abaxially and adaxially, sparsely uncinate-puberulent, sutures moderately uncinate-puberulent; stipe to 1 mm.

Phenology: Flowering late summer–fall.
Habitat: Dry woodlands, grass­lands, open hillsides.
Elevation: 1100–1500 m.

Distribution

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Ariz., Mexico (Chihuahua, Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas).

Discussion

In Arizona, Desmodium gramineum is known from Cochise, Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.