Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium macrocephalum |
|
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notch-leaf clover, Pinole clover, piñole clover |
big-head clover, large-head clover |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 5–55 cm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. | Herbs perennial, 5–25 cm, villous. |
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 ovate, obovate, or oblong, 1–3 cm, margins entire, irregularly lobed, or serrate, apex acute or acuminate; petiole 1–14 cm; petiolules 0.9–1.2 mm; leaflets (5–)7–9, blades broadly to narrowly obovate, often folded, 1–2.7 × 0.4–1.1 cm, base cuneate, veins thickened, especially distally, margins serrulate, apex rounded or truncate, apiculate, surfaces villous abaxially, sparsely villous to glabrate adaxially. |
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, 20–32-flowered, globose or ovoid-ellipsoid, 2.5–8 × 3–7 cm; involucres absent. |
Peduncles | 3–8 cm. |
2–8 cm. |
Pedicels | reflexed in fruit, 1–3 mm; bracteoles broadly triangular, membranous, to 0.5 mm. |
erect, 1–1.5 mm; bracteoles broadly ovate, membranous, to 0.5 mm, truncate. |
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. |
20–30 mm; calyx campanulate, 10–22 mm, villous, veins 10–15, tube 2.5–4 mm, lobes subequal, subulate, plumose, orifice open; corolla white, creamy white, or pinkish, keel petals deep pink, 20–28 mm, banner ovate or oblong, 20–28 × 10–13 mm, apex rounded or slightly emarginate. |
Legumes | stipitate, obovoid, 3–4 mm. |
ovoid, 4–5 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, brown, mottled, oblong, 2–3 mm, smooth. |
1 or 2, yellow or reddish, mitten-shaped to ellipsoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
= 32, 48. |
Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium macrocephalum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Open woodlands, fields, roadsides, slopes, stream margins, meadows. | Rocky places, hard, compacted clay-gumbo, lava beds, sage-covered slopes, full sun. |
Elevation | 0–1200 m. (0–3900 ft.) | 80–2500 m. (300–8200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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CA; ID; NV; OR; WA
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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 macrocephalum has the largest inflorescences of any clover. Trifolium megacephalum Nuttall (1818) is an illegitimate replacement name for Lupinaster macrocephalum Pursh. (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 | Lupinaster macrocephalum |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 3: 102. (1864) | (Pursh) Poiret in J. Lamarck et al.: Encycl., suppl. 5: 336. (1817) |
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