plant ID'd as 'hoary tick-trefoil'

I thought I recognized this as an accidental soybean planting, a few beans spilled,  but now I think not.  Near by is a chocolate mint, a heritage raspberry, redbud and a comfrey....and then a big patch of this 'legume'?  New place, so I'm watching for plants that are already here along with seed I've sown and things I've planted......I do plant organic soybeans sometimes as a cover crop, but have no memory of planting these and the ones I've grown never have that tall shoot coming off of them.....this small area is several plants all mixed together.

I was just looking at pictures of trellis ideas and saw a picture of yard long beans that looks just like that.

Jessica Padgham wrote:I was just looking at pictures of trellis ideas and saw a picture of yard long beans that looks just like that.

A yard long bean plant would be fun, it really looks like a bean of some sort.  
I wish they would bloom and then I could get a better idea of what to think.  As it is they are getting longer and don't seem to have tendrils or anything like they might want to climb...just sort of sprawling out all over my raspberries

No one has lived here for a number of years but we've found the garlic patch and a few yard plantings that survived some serious mowing and otherwise neglect so I suppose this could be something that has reseeded over several years and escaped the mower.

I think we've got the ID now.  

Desmodium canescens  Hoary Tick-Trefoil

I'm finding it in the chicken run and a few other places.  Sounds like a great plant to leave to run rampant for many reasons including that it's another legume to fix nitrogen.

When it blooms we'll be certain.

yes, most definitely 'hoary tick trefoil'.  and from what I've learned it sounds like it is a keeper.  I took some pics of the flowers and then didn't get around to posting them.  Maybe I'll run across them eventually.  They did look just like the picture in my post above.

In October I made the mistake of walking through just a bit of it wearing a cotton jersey skirt and we have just finished pulling all of the seeds off of the skirt.....they solidly covered the bottom foot or so...added those to the compost where I assume many will survive and continue spreading.

Here is a link to the wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmodium

I was interested in learning more about this property of the plant

'Tick-trefoils produce high amounts of antixenotic allomones - chemicals which repel many insect pests - and allelopathic compounds which kill weeds.'

I'm working towards areas where there is 'anything but bermuda' running rampant...I think this one might have a chance.

Judith, Thank you for the link.
It's great to read about the plant's positive and
beneficial uses. Now maybe I won't grumble as
much when I brush the "beggar lice" seeds out
of my dog's fur.