Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium alexandrinum |
|
---|---|---|
notch-leaf clover, Pinole clover, piñole clover |
Egyptian clover |
|
Habit | Herbs annual, 5–55 cm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. | Herbs annual, 20–60 cm, appressed-pubescent. |
Stems | erect, branched. |
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. |
palmate; stipules lanceolate, 1–2 cm, margins denticulate distally, plumose-ciliate, apex caudate; petiole 1–8 cm; petiolules 1+ mm; leaflets 3, blades broadly elliptic to oblong, 1–5 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base cuneate, veins fine, margins denticulate, apex usually mucronate, sometimes retuse, surfaces hairy. |
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. |
terminal, 25–100-flowered, ovoid, elongate in fruit, 1–2.5 × 1–1.5 cm; involucres minute or absent. |
Peduncles | 3–8 cm. |
0.5–9 cm. |
Pedicels | reflexed in fruit, 1–3 mm; bracteoles broadly triangular, membranous, to 0.5 mm. |
absent; bracteoles absent. |
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. |
13–16 mm; calyx cylindric (campanulate in fruit), 6–8 mm, appressed-hairy, veins 10, tube 1–2 mm, lobes erect to slightly spreading, equal or abaxial 2 slightly longer, narrowly triangular, orifice open, hairy; corolla cream or yellowish white, 13–16 mm, banner narrowly spatulate, 13–16 × 3–4 mm, apex obtuse. |
Legumes | stipitate, obovoid, 3–4 mm. |
ellipsoid, leathery distally, transversely dehiscent, 2.2–2.5 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, brown, mottled, oblong, 2–3 mm, smooth. |
1, yellow, ovoid, 2–2.2 mm, smooth, glossy. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium alexandrinum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Apr–May. |
Habitat | Open woodlands, fields, roadsides, slopes, stream margins, meadows. | Disturbed areas, fields. |
Elevation | 0–1200 m. (0–3900 ft.) | 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
|
CA; w Asia (Syria) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in e Asia (e China), n Africa, Australia] |
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.) |
Trifolium alexandrinum (known also as berseem, from its Arabic name) has been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for millennia and appears to have been introduced into Egypt in the sixth century (P. B. Kennedy and W. W. Mackie 1925). The origin of T. alexandrinum was long shrouded in mystery, because it appeared that the progenitors of the species were possibly extinct (W. E. Knight 1985b). Examination of similar species using molecular data gave indications that T. berytheum Boissier & C. I. Blanche and T. salmoneum Mouterde might be the primary ancestors from which domestication occurred through artificial selection in Syria (A. Badr et al. 2008). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium | 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) | Linnaeus: Cent. Pl. I, 25. (1755) |
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