Origin:
Possibly native to Latin America, and now found from Florida to Texas along the Gulf States, in the West Indies and throughout Latin America, as well as in Tropical Africa and Hawaii.
Biology:
A perennial weed that forms a large, strong taproot that creates numerous runners that will root at the nodes. Propagation may be from seeds, stolons, and broken segments of the roots, and the seeds easily attach to clothing or passing animals for distribution. This is a weed in turf, landscape, and disturbed sites of many kinds.
Identification:
Mature plants will adapt to low mowing in turf, but where allowed to grow undisturbed can be over a foot in height. The leaves are compound with 3 large, elongate-oval leaflets that may be pointed at the tip and with a fairly long stalk. The mid-vein and slightly in the side veins the coloration is a whitish green against the dark green background. The pink to violet flowers grow on racemes a the ends of the stems. They are small and irregular in shape. The seed pods form below the still developing flowers and these are slightly curved and contain 6 to 8 rounded segments.
Characteristicts Important to Control:
In turf a selective broadleaf herbicide will be effective. Plants tolerate close mowing with their prostrate growth habit.
