Desmodium adscendens (Sw.) DC., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Desmodium ovalifolium Guill. & Perr.; Hedysarum adscendens Sw.; Meibomia adscendens (Sw.) Kuntze

Common name(s): [more details]

English: strongback, tick clover, tick trefoil, tropical clover, zarzabacoa galana

Fijian: kandakanda

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbaceous, to almost 1 m in length; stem creeping or forming tussocks, terete, striate with stiff, upwardly appressed to spreading pilosity.  Leaves 3-foliolate; stipules obliquely ovate-lanceolate with long attenuate apex and slightly auriculate base, 0.5-1 cm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, puberulent and pilose to glabrescent on the outer surface, persistent; petiole pilose, 1-3 cm long; leaf-rhachis similar, 0.3-1 cm long; leaflets elliptic-obovate, (acute to) obtuse and emarginate at apex, cuneate to rounded at base, pilose to essentially glabrous on the upper surface, densely soft pilose on the lower; terminal leaflet 1.7-4.3 cm long, 0.7-3.2 cm wide; lateral leaflets 1.3-3 cm long, 0.7-2 cm wide.  Inflorescence composed of axillary and terminal racemes; rhachides striate to grooved, sparsely to abundantly stiff-pilose and finely puberulent with multicellular and uncinulate hairs; primary bracts ovate-acuminate with long attenuate apex, 3.5-5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, 2 pedicels; secondary bracts absent or, if rarely present, depauperate; pedicels with pubescence similar to that of rhachis, 0.4-1.7 (-2.1) cm long.  Flowers usually pink.  Calyx 2-lipped; tube minutely puberulent; teeth of both lobes pilose, 2-3 mm long.  Corolla exceeding calyx; standard obovate, shortly clawed, 4-5.5 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide; wings ± oblong, broader above, slightly auricled, shortly clawed, 3-3.5 mm long, 1-2 mm wide; keel-petals somewhat triangular, truncate at apex, gradually narrowed to a long claw, 3.5-4 mm long, 1 mm wide.  Fruit with a stipe 0.5-2 mm long, 1-5-articled; articles ± obliquely oblong, straight on the upper suture, curved below, constricted about half their width at the isthmi, 3.5-5.5 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide, uncinulate-pubescent throughout.  Seed transversely elliptic, 2.5-5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide" (Gillett et al., 1971; pp. 461-462).

"A low shrub or subligneous herb 0.3-1.3 m high, the stem sometimes creeping and sometimes forming tussocks with ascending branches.  Its petals are pink to blue or pale purple, and flowers and fruits occur throughout the year" (Smith, 1985; p. 192).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "now locally common and naturalized in pastures, fields, and waste places, sometimes being found on open hillsides and along forest trails up to an elevation of about 500 m" (Smith, 1985; p. 192).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Widespread throughout the tropics of both hemispheres, but presumably originally a native of America" (Smith, 1985; p. 192).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Kandavu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 192) Voucher cited: DA 2990
Fiji Fiji Islands	Lakemba Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 192) Voucher cited: Garnock-Jones 899
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 192) Voucher cited: DA 1348
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 192) Vouchers cited: DA 14319, Harwood 57, DA July 2, 1947
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 192) Vouchers cited: DA 13192, Degener 15295, DA 10098, DA 1749, DA 9565, DA 14038, DA 5821
Fiji Fiji Islands	Yanutha Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 192) Voucher cited: DA 9630
Fiji Fiji Islands	Yathata Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 192) Voucher cited: DA 15547
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Enewetak (Ãnewetak, Eniwetok) Atoll	introduced invasive	Lamberson, J. O. (1982) (p. 30)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Maré	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 82) Voucher cited: Toutain 3673 (NOU)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Îles Ouvéa (Ouvea Atoll)	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 82) Voucher cited: Blanchon 1484
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Tiga	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 82) Voucher cited: MacKee 45868
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 381) Largement répandue a l'état spontané.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 82) Vouchers cited: Le Rat 514, Franc 1339, Franc 2059, MacKee 3796, MacKee 23314
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île des Pins (Isle of Pines)	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 82) Voucher cited: MacKee 23465
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Rodrigues Island	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Desmodium adscendens, please let us know.