Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium nanum |
|
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notch-leaf clover, Pinole clover, piñole clover |
dwarf clover |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 5–55 cm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. | Herbs perennial, 4–10 cm, glabrous. |
Stems | erect, branched. |
cespitose, matted, acaulescent. |
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-lanceolate, 1–2 cm, margins entire, apex acuminate, sometimes forked; petiole 0.3–2.5 cm; petiolules to 0.2 mm; leaflets 3, blades oblanceolate or obovate, 0.3–1.2 × 0.1–0.5 cm, base cuneate, veins ± thickened, margins toothed, apex acute or acuminate, 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, 1–4-flowered, umbellate, 1.5–2 × 0.5–1 cm, rachis not prolonged beyond flowers; involucres a narrow, membranous, dentate rim, 1 mm. |
Peduncles | 3–8 cm. |
0.5–3 cm. |
Pedicels | reflexed in fruit, 1–3 mm; bracteoles broadly triangular, membranous, to 0.5 mm. |
erect, 1 mm; bracteoles cuplike, membranous, 0.5–1 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. |
15–20 mm; calyx campanulate, 4–7 mm, glabrous, veins 5–10, tube 3–4 mm, lobes equal, triangular-acuminate, orifice open; corolla purple or violet, 15–20 mm, banner oblong, 15–20 × 7–9 mm, apex rounded, slightly retuse. |
Legumes | stipitate, obovoid, 3–4 mm. |
oblanceoloid, 9–11 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, brown, mottled, oblong, 2–3 mm, smooth. |
4–6, tan or brown, mitten-shaped, 2–2.2 mm, smooth, dull. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium bifidum |
Trifolium nanum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Open woodlands, fields, roadsides, slopes, stream margins, meadows. | Alpine slopes, tundra. |
Elevation | 0–1200 m. (0–3900 ft.) | 2600–4500 m. (8500–14800 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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CO; MT; NM; UT; WY
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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 nanum is abundant in alpine tundra areas from Montana through Wyoming and Utah into Colorado (where it is most common) and northern New Mexico; populations are morphologically variable with regard to leaf size and petiole length, and this variability appears to be related to water availability (J. M. Gillett 1965). (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) | Torrey: Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 1: 35, plate 3, fig. 4. (1824) |
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