Trifolium andersonii |
Trifolium nanum |
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Anderson's clover, fiveleaf clover |
dwarf clover |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, 5–12 cm, canescent. | Herbs perennial, 4–10 cm, glabrous. | ||||||||
Stems | erect-ascending, cespitose, mat-forming, branched; from deep taproot-like crown. |
cespitose, matted, acaulescent. |
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Leaves | palmate; stipules ovate or lanceolate, 0.5–1.5 cm, margins entire, apex long-acuminate; petiole 1–5 cm; petiolules to 0.5 mm; leaflets (3–)5, blades obovate, 0.5–2.2 × 0.2–1.2 cm, base cuneate, veins obscured by pubescence, margins entire, apex rounded or acute, apiculate, surfaces canescent. |
palmate; stipules ovate-lanceolate, 1–2 cm, margins entire, apex acuminate, sometimes forked; petiole 0.3–2.5 cm; petiolules to 0.2 mm; leaflets 3, blades oblanceolate or obovate, 0.3–1.2 × 0.1–0.5 cm, base cuneate, veins ± thickened, margins toothed, apex acute or acuminate, surfaces glabrous. |
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Inflorescences | axillary, 10–20-flowered, depressed-globose, 1–2 × 1–2.3 cm; involucres formed of connate, narrow, membranous bracts, to 0.5 mm. |
terminal or axillary, 1–4-flowered, umbellate, 1.5–2 × 0.5–1 cm, rachis not prolonged beyond flowers; involucres a narrow, membranous, dentate rim, 1 mm. |
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Peduncles | 1–14 cm. |
0.5–3 cm. |
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Pedicels | absent; bracteoles absent. |
erect, 1 mm; bracteoles cuplike, membranous, 0.5–1 mm. |
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Flowers | 10–17 mm; calyx campanulate, 9–11 mm, pilose, veins 10, tube 4–5 mm, lobes equal, subulate, plumose, orifice open; corolla white or pink, 10–17 mm, banner ovate-oblong, 12–19 × 3–5 mm, apex rounded, retuse. |
15–20 mm; calyx campanulate, 4–7 mm, glabrous, veins 5–10, tube 3–4 mm, lobes equal, triangular-acuminate, orifice open; corolla purple or violet, 15–20 mm, banner oblong, 15–20 × 7–9 mm, apex rounded, slightly retuse. |
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Legumes | ellipsoid, 4–5 mm. |
oblanceoloid, 9–11 mm. |
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Seeds | 1 (or 2), tan or brown, irregularly ovoid, 1.6–2 mm, smooth, glossy. |
4–6, tan or brown, mitten-shaped, 2–2.2 mm, smooth, dull. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Trifolium andersonii |
Trifolium nanum |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | |||||||||
Habitat | Alpine slopes, tundra. | |||||||||
Elevation | 2600–4500 m. (8500–14800 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
w United States
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CO; MT; NM; UT; WY
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Discussion | Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora). Trifolium andersonii encompasses three moderately well separable subspecies, with subsp. andersonii the more northern form in the range of the species, subsp. monoense in the southwestern portion of the range, and subsp. beatleyae in the eastern portion of the range (J. M. Gillett 1972). Intermediates between the latter two (and overlap in their ranges) make differentiation between them somewhat problematic, which prompted R. C. Barneby (1989) to combine them as var. beatleyae. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Trifolium nanum is abundant in alpine tundra areas from Montana through Wyoming and Utah into Colorado (where it is most common) and northern New Mexico; populations are morphologically variable with regard to leaf size and petiole length, and this variability appears to be related to water availability (J. M. Gillett 1965). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 522. (1865) | Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 1: 35, plate 3, fig. 4. (1824) | ||||||||
Web links |