Desmodium
| Desmodium | |
|---|---|
| Desmodium heterocarpon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae | 
| Clade: | Tracheophytes | 
| Clade: | Angiosperms | 
| Clade: | Eudicots | 
| Clade: | Rosids | 
| Order: | Fabales | 
| Family: | Fabaceae | 
| Subfamily: | Faboideae | 
| Tribe: | Desmodieae | 
| Subtribe: | Desmodiinae | 
| Genus: | Desmodium Desv. (1813), nom. cons. | 
| Species | |
| Many, see text | |
| Synonyms | |
| 
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Desmodium is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae, sometimes called tick-trefoil, tick clover, hitch hikers or beggar lice. There are dozens of species and the delimitation of the genus has shifted much over time. Species are distributed widely – from Quebec to northern Argentina in the Americas, across northern and southern tropical Africa, in the southern Arabian Peninsula, in Myanmar and Thailand, New Guinea, and northern and eastern Australia.