Photos: © Doug McGrady and WR Smith

This month’s lovely little herb is very rare in RI as we are at its northeastern limit. It grows 1-3’ high in dry woods. It has alternating compound leaves with broad leaflets on short petioles. The irregular purple flowers, under ¼” long, ripen to a pod with hooked hairs that cling to your socks and pants.

It is…

Botanical Name: Desmodium ciliare
Common Name: hairy small-leaved tick trefoil
Family: Fabaceae (Legume family)
Habitat: dry woods

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