Desmodium glutinosum: flowers and foliage

Desmodium glutinosum, known in English as "pointed-leaf tick trefoil", "large tick trefoil", or "large-flowered tick clover" and in French as desmodie glutineuse is a perennial native to eastern and central North America. Like its relative, Desmodium canadense, it has racemes of small flowers similar to pea flowers (they are legumes), but D. glutinosum has smaller flowers, pale pink rather than purple.

The leaves are divided into three broad pointed leaflets. D. glutinosum is distinguished from the other tick trefoils by its whorl of leaves encircling the stem below the inforescence. (Once again, I'm linking to the superior photography at Missouri Plants.)

The tiny pink flowers form a delicate pink cloud when grown en masse. I took these photographs at High Park.