Illinois Tick Trefoil is not very showy because only a few flowers are in bloom at the same time. Unlike other Tick Trefoils, it has high fidelity to prairies, and is less often observed around woodlands. It can be readily distinguished from Desmodium canadense (Showy Tick Trefoil), another species that often occurs in prairies, by considering the following features: 1) the former species usually has fewer flowers in bloom at the same time as the latter, 2) the compound leaves of the former have much longer petioles (over 1" long) than the latter, 3) the stipules at the base of the petioles of the former are larger, broader, and more persistant than the stipules of the latter, and 4) the undersides of the leaflets of the former have more prominent veins than the leaflets of the latter. In general, the form and number of segments in the loments are important in distinguishing the different species of Tick Trefoil, while their flowers are very similar in appearance.