Kearney and Peebles 1969, Martin and Hutchins 1980
Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Stems diffuse to decumbent, 30 cm or more tall. Leaves: Trifoliate leaves, leaflets oblong or oblanceolate, dark green above, lighter in color beneath, without conspicuously reticulate veins, leaflets oblong lanceolate to elliptic oblong, strigose, mostly more than 1 cm wide, the terminal one rarely less than 3 times as long as wide. Flowers: In terminal or axillary racemes, simple or compound, corolla purple, pink, or white, with a protruding style, bracts ovate, closely overlapping, to 6 mm long, pubescent. Fruits: Flat pubescent or glabrous loments with several single seeded segments, segments of fruit not more than 4 mm long, indehiscent, but less deeply notched above than below. Ecology: Found in pine woods from 3,500-6,500 ft (1067-1981 m); flowering June-September. Notes: The keys to this species are the closely overlapping floral bracts, the closely packed single seeds of the loments, and the leaves which are not noticeably reticulate veined, something that is common among many of the Desmodium. 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 batocaulon is of uncertain origin. Synonyms: Meibomia batocaulis Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011