Family: Fabaceae
Group: Dicot
Substrate:
Terrestrial
Habit:
Herb
Perennation:
Perennial
Native Range: Old World.
Map of select IRC data for peninsular Florida
SOUTH FLORIDA Occurrence:
Present
SOUTH FLORIDA Native Status:
Not Native, Naturalized
SOUTH FLORIDA Cultivated Status:
Not Cultivated
Comments: Franck et al. (in prep.) have determined that most plants typically determined as
Desmodium incanum in South Florida are likely
Desmodium mauritianum, introduced from the Old World, a taxon that is often placed into synonymy under
Desmodium incanum (see e.g.
GFIF 2022). These plants grow as weeds, with elliptic leaves that are often variegated.
Desmodium incanum, in the narrow sense, has been documented in the United States only in Miami-Dade County, Florida south of the Miami River, and once along the Snake Bight Trial in Everglades National Park in the southeasternmost Monroe County mainland. These plants grow in a variety of calcareous habitats, including pine rocklands, edges of rockland hammocks, marl prairies, and open coastal berms. We are currently editing data between the two species, and some records here may be reassigned to
Desmodium incanum as records are reviewed.
Synonyms:
Desmodium incanum of authors, not (Sw.) DC.
FLORIDA KEYS Occurrence:
Present
FLORIDA KEYS Native Status:
Not Native, Naturalized
Map of select IRC data for the Florida Keys
Florida Keys History and Distribution: Not reported in 1913 by John Kunkel Small. This was treated as
Desmodium incanum and a native from 2001-2021, although spreading as a weed along roadsides and in other disturbed areas.
