Desmodium cuspidatum

Stem stout, erect, leafy, to 2 m; stipules lanceolate, 8-17 mm, usually persistent; principal petioles 5-8 cm, flattened distally; lfls thin, bright green above, paler beneath, the lateral lance-ovate, the terminal ovate, 6-12 cm, sharply acuminate; infl a simple raceme or sparsely branching panicle; fls 6-12 mm, pink, on pedicels 3-7 mm; cal 4-5 mm; stipe 2-5 mm; articles 3-7, rhomboidal, 8-11 mm. Dry upland woods and thickets; July, Aug. The var. cuspidatum (D. bracteosum; D. grandiflorum), occurring from Mass. and Vt. to Mich. and Wis., s. to Ga. and Okla., has the stem, lvs, stipules, and cal glabrous or nearly so. The var. longifolium (Torr. & A. Gray) B. G. Schub., occurring from O. to Minn. and Nebr., s. to Ga. and ne. Tex., is ±hairy.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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