tick trefoil

tick trefoil

n.

Any of various plants of the genus Desmodium, usually having trifoliolate compound leaves, racemes of small purplish or white flowers, and jointed seedpods with easily separable, one-seeded segments.

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[From tick (from the way its pods adhere to animals).]

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tick trefoil

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) any of various tropical and subtropical leguminous plants of the genus Desmodium, having trifoliate leaves, clusters of small purplish or white flowers, and sticky jointed seed pods, which separate into segments that cling to animals Also called beggar-ticks

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

tick trefoil - any of various tropical and subtropical plants having trifoliate leaves and rough sticky pod sections or loments beggar lice, beggar's lice Desmodium, genus Desmodium - beggarweed; tick trefoil beggarweed, Desmodium purpureum, Desmodium tortuosum - West Indian forage plant cultivated in southern United States as forage and to improve soil subshrub, suffrutex - low-growing woody shrub or perennial with woody base