Trifolium bifidum |
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notch-leaf clover, Pinole clover, piñole clover |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 5–55 cm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. |
Stems | erect, branched. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules ovate to lanceolate, 0.8–1.5 cm, margins entire or slightly serrate, apex acicular; petiole 1–7 cm; petiolules to 0.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades narrowly obcordate, obovate, oblanceolate, or linear, 1–2.5 × 0.3–0.7 cm, base cuneate, veins moderately thickened, margins serrate distally or entire, apex rounded, truncate, shallowly to deeply retuse, or deeply 2-fid, surfaces glabrous or hairy abaxially along midvein. |
Inflorescences | axillary or terminal, 5–30-flowered, globose to subglobose, 0.8–1.5 × 0.8–1.5 cm, rachis prolonged beyond flowers; involucres a very narrow rim, to 0.5 mm. |
Peduncles | 3–8 cm. |
Pedicels | reflexed in fruit, 1–3 mm; bracteoles broadly triangular, membranous, to 0.5 mm. |
Flowers | 6–8 mm; calyx campanulate, 3–3.6 mm, slightly hairy or glabrous, veins 10, tube 1–1.5 mm, lobes unequal, subulate, margins green or purple, orifice open; corolla pink or purple, 5–7 mm, banner elliptic to oblong, 5–7 × 3–4 mm, apex rounded, apiculate. |
Legumes | stipitate, obovoid, 3–4 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, brown, mottled, oblong, 2–3 mm, smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
Trifolium bifidum |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Open woodlands, fields, roadsides, slopes, stream margins, meadows. |
Elevation | 0–1200 m. (0–3900 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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Discussion | Trifolium bifidum ranges from Baja California, Mexico, northward through California to scattered sites in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Recent re-evaluation of Trifolium bifidum and related species showed complete overlap in characters for the two varieties that have been recognized previously, with no clear distinctions between them (L. Rogers, pers. comm.). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | T. bifidum var. decipiens, T. greenei, T. hallii |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 3: 102. (1864) |
Web links |
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