Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium hybridum |
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notch-leaf clover, Pinole clover, piñole clover |
Alsike clover |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 5–55 cm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. | Herbs perennial, 10–70 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
Stems | erect, branched. |
erect or ascending, 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 obovate or lanceolate, 1–2.5 cm, margins entire or toothed, apex long-acuminate; petiole 1–21 cm; petiolules 1 mm; leaflets 3, blades usually obovate or ovate, rarely rhombic, 1–4 × 1–2.5 cm, base cuneate, veins prominent, margins sharply serrate, apex broadly acute, obtuse, or emarginate, surfaces glabrous. |
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 or axillary, 10–70+-flowered, globose to subglobose, 1–2.5 × 1–2.5 cm, rachis not prolonged beyond flowers; involucres absent. |
Peduncles | 3–8 cm. |
2–10 cm. |
Pedicels | reflexed in fruit, 1–3 mm; bracteoles broadly triangular, membranous, to 0.5 mm. |
strongly reflexed, 2–3.5 mm; bracteoles lanceolate, 1 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. |
8–12 mm; calyx campanulate, 3.5–4 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy, veins 10, tube 1.5–2 mm, lobes unequal, lanceolate-subulate, orifice open; corolla pale to dark pink, 7–10 mm, banner ovate-oblong, 6.5–10.5 × 4–6 mm, apex rounded-denticulate. |
Legumes | stipitate, obovoid, 3–4 mm. |
stipitate, ellipsoid, 3–7 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, brown, mottled, oblong, 2–3 mm, smooth. |
2–4, tan, brown, or red-brown, mitten-shaped, 1–1.4 mm, smooth, dull. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium hybridum |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering May–Oct. |
Habitat | Open woodlands, fields, roadsides, slopes, stream margins, meadows. | Roadsides, open woods, edges, fields, meadows, waste places. |
Elevation | 0–1200 m. (0–3900 ft.) | 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; SPM; Greenland; Europe; w Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America, Europe, elsewhere in Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
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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.) |
Trifolium hybridum is widely cultivated as a forage crop. It may cause dermatitis in humans (J. W. Hardin and J. M. Arena 1974) and is implicated as a cause of dermatitis and biliary fibrosis in horses (C. Fisher 1995); the connection between the clover and the diseases is inconclusive (P. N. Nation 1989). (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 | Amoria hybrida, T. elegans |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 3: 102. (1864) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 766. (1753) |
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