tick-trefoil

English

The pods (loments) of Desmodium gangeticum, with hooked hairs visible around the edges

Etymology

From tick +‎ trefoil (“three-leaved”). Tick refers to the plant's loments – pods that break apart into segments that each contain one seed – which have small hooked hairs that allow the segments to stick to clothes, hair, or fur, similar to the way a tick clings on with its legs.

Noun

tick-trefoil (plural tick-trefoils)

1. One of several species in the genus Desmodium in the legume family