Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium microcephalum |
|
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notch-leaf clover, Pinole clover, piñole clover |
small-head clover |
|
Habit | Herbs annual, 5–55 cm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. | Herbs annual, 3–55 cm, densely to sparsely pubescent. |
Stems | erect, branched. |
erect to 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 obliquely ovate, 0.4–1.2 cm, margins entire or slightly serrate, apex acuminate; petiole 1–5 cm; petiolules 0.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades oblanceolate, obovate, or obcordate, 0.4–1.7 × 0.3–1.1 cm, base cuneate, veins fine or slightly thickened, margins setose, often dentate distally, apex usually retuse, rarely rounded, surfaces villous. |
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. |
axillary or terminal, 10–40-flowered, globose, 0.5–1.3 × 0.4–1.2 cm; involucres flattened or bowl-shaped, 0.4–1 cm, when folded, nearly completely hiding calyces, villous, incised 1/2 their length, lobes 5–12, lanceolate-ovate, entire or slightly toothed proximally, acuminate. |
Peduncles | 3–8 cm. |
1–8 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. |
4–6 mm; calyx campanulate-tubular, 3–5.5 mm, pubescent, veins 10, tube 1.8–2.5 mm, lobes ± equal, triangular-aristate, margins hyaline, wavy, orifice open; corolla white or pink to lavender, 4–6 mm, banner oblong, 3–6 × 1–2 mm, apex emarginate. |
Legumes | stipitate, obovoid, 3–4 mm. |
broadly ellipsoid, 1.5–2 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, brown, mottled, oblong, 2–3 mm, smooth. |
1, yellow, reddish mottled, oblong, 1.5 mm, smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium microcephalum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Mar–Jul. |
Habitat | Open woodlands, fields, roadsides, slopes, stream margins, meadows. | Meadows, roadsides, stream banks, forest clearings, grassy slopes. |
Elevation | 0–1200 m. (0–3900 ft.) | 0–2500 m. (0–8200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
|
AK; AZ; CA; ID; MT; NV; 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.) |
Trifolium microcephalum is common in much of its range in California and northward into Oregon, and is rare in much of the rest of its range. It is closely allied with the Chilean T. vernum Philippi (N. W. Ellison et al. 2006), which it resembles greatly, and from which it is distinguished by its shorter calyx lobes (M. Zohary and D. Heller 1984). (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 | Lojaconoa microcephala, T. microcephalum var. bipedale, T. microcephalum var. lemmonii |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 3: 102. (1864) | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 478. (1813) |
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