Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Subshrub General: Stems erect to prostrate, herbs or small shrubs with a woody caudex. Leaves: Trifoliate leaves, leaflets obtuse, the terminal one 2 to 3 times as long as wide, oblong, ovate, or obovate, lower leaves with petioles 1.5 cm long or longer, bright green with reticulate veins. Flowers: In terminal or axillary racemes, simple or compound, corolla purple, pink, or white, bracts not conspicuously overlapping, subulate to narrowly lanceolate. Fruits: Flat loments with several single seeded segments, indehiscent, hairs of the fruits not hooked. Ecology: Found on dry soils in open areas and on slopes from 4,000-6,000 ft (1219-1829 m); flowering August-September. Notes: The keys to this species are the subulate (awl-shaped) to narrowly lanceolate bracts which are not overlapping, the long petioles of the lower leaflets (to 1.5 cm long), and the straight hairs of the loments. The loments have easily visible reticulate venation, and the leaves of this species are generally a bit larger than the usual Desmodium. This and D. batocaulon are the only two species with sparsely pubescent, long stipitate fruits with oval, untwisted segments. Ethnobotany: There is no specific use recorded for this species, however the genus was used as an infusion to treat vomiting and colds and as a wash for sores. Etymology: Desmodium is from the Greek desmos for chain, which is a reference to the jointed seed pods, while cinerascens means becoming gray. Synonyms: None Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011