Desmodium spp. - Trefoil

Trefoil, or Desmodium, consists of plants with trifoliate leaves and small pink or purple flowers. They are important for their role in soil improvement and as forage plants for livestock. Some species are also used in traditional medicine.

Inputs

• Hardiness zone 3¹
• Hardiness zone 4¹
• Hardiness zone 5¹
• Hardiness zone 6¹
• Full sun¹
• Semi-shade¹
• Well drained soil¹
• Moist soil¹

Outputs

• Medicinal use²

Type

• Herb
• Perennial

Functions

• Nitrogen fixer³
• Wildlife habitat¹

Footnotes

1. Desmodium canadense | Plants for a Future ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Cueva-Chamba et al., “Traditional medicinal uses and biological activities of species of the genus Desmodium: a literature review,” Boletín Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plantas Medicinales y Aromáticas 22(6), 2023, DOI: 10.37360/blacpma.23.22.6.51 ↩

3. Gaia’s Garden - A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, 2nd Edition Table 6-3 ↩