Desmodium fernaldii

Desmodium fernaldii is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae.^[3] It is native to the southeastern United States.

Desmodium fernaldii
Conservation status
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Genus:	Desmodium
Species:	D. fernaldii
Binomial name
Desmodium fernaldii B.G.Schub.[2]

Description

Desmodium fernaldii is a herbaceous perennial plant.

Taxonomy

Desmodium fernaldii was first described by the American botanist Bernice Schubert in 1950.^[4] The specific name fernaldii honors American botanist Merritt Lyndon Fernald "whose intensive work on the flora of [Virginia] has clarified many floristic problems of long standing".

Desmodium fernaldii is a member of the Desmodium paniculatum complex, a group of closely related taxa that also includes Desmodium paniculatum sensu stricto, Desmodium glabellum, and Desmodium perplexum.^[5] Alternatively, some botanists lump the taxa into a single polymorphic species, Desmodium paniculatum sensu lato,^[6][7] in which case Desmodium fernaldii becomes a variety of Desmodium paniculatum.

Distribution and habitat

Desmodium fernaldii is native to the southeastern United States.^[8]