Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium microdon |
|
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notch-leaf clover, Pinole clover, piñole clover |
thimble clover, Valparaiso clover |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 5–55 cm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. | Herbs annual, 6–35 cm, villous or glabrous. |
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 obliquely ovate, 0.4–1.2 cm, margins entire, toothed, or lacerate, apex acuminate; petiole 1–8 cm; petiolules 0.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades obovate or obcordate, 0.4–1.4 × 0.3–1.2 cm, base cuneate, veins fine, thickened distally, margins serrate, apex rounded or emarginate, surfaces villous or 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. |
axillary or terminal, 10–17-flowered, subglobose, 0.8–1.7 × 0.5–1.5 cm; involucres cup-shaped, 0.5–1.5 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy, lobes 8–12, ovate, conspicuously sharply toothed. |
Peduncles | 3–8 cm. |
1.5–7.4 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. |
6–7 mm; calyx tubular-campanulate, 3–4 mm, glabrous, veins 10, tube 2.5–3.5 mm, lobes ± equal, triangular, not or minutely aristate, conspicuously toothed, margins membranous, orifice open; corolla pale pink or white, 6–9 mm, banner oblong, 6–9 × 2–3 mm, apex narrowly rounded or emarginate-mucronate. |
Legumes | stipitate, obovoid, 3–4 mm. |
ovoid, 2–3 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, brown, mottled, oblong, 2–3 mm, smooth. |
1 or 2, greenish, sometimes mottled, oblong, 1.5–2 mm, smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium microdon |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Apr–Jul. |
Habitat | Open woodlands, fields, roadsides, slopes, stream margins, meadows. | Meadows, roadsides, dry slopes, fields, open oak or pine forests. |
Elevation | 0–1200 m. (0–3900 ft.) | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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CA; ID; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California); South America (Chile)
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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 microdon is one of several clovers that have an apparently natural disjunct distribution between the western coast of South America (Chile) and western North America. Others include T. depauperatum var. depauperatum and T. macraei. In herbarium specimens of Trifolium microdon, the folded involucre hides, or nearly hides, the calyces, whereas in herbarium specimens of similar T. microcephalum, the calyces are still visible. (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 | T. microdon var. pilosum |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 3: 102. (1864) | Hooker & Arnott: Bot. Misc. 3: 180. (1833) |
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