Trifolium ciliolatum |
Trifolium alexandrinum |
|
---|---|---|
foothill clover, tree clover |
Egyptian clover |
|
Habit | Herbs annual, 5–50 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy. | Herbs annual, 20–60 cm, appressed-pubescent. |
Stems | erect, branched. |
erect, branched. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules ovate-lanceolate, 1–1.5 cm, margins entire, sometimes ciliate, apex acuminate; petiole 1–13 cm; petiolules 0.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades elliptic to oblong or obovate, 0.8–3.5 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base cuneate, veins thickened, margins serrate proximally, obscurely denticulate distally, apex usually rounded or retuse, rarely acute, surfaces glabrous. |
palmate; stipules lanceolate, 1–2 cm, margins denticulate distally, plumose-ciliate, apex caudate; petiole 1–8 cm; petiolules 1+ mm; leaflets 3, blades broadly elliptic to oblong, 1–5 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base cuneate, veins fine, margins denticulate, apex usually mucronate, sometimes retuse, surfaces hairy. |
Inflorescences | axillary or terminal, 10–30-flowered, ovoid to subglobose, 0.7–2.2 × 0.5–2 cm; involucres a narrow rim, 0.5 mm, membranous, dentate. |
terminal, 25–100-flowered, ovoid, elongate in fruit, 1–2.5 × 1–1.5 cm; involucres minute or absent. |
Peduncles | 2.5–12 cm. |
0.5–9 cm. |
Pedicels | erect becoming reflexed, 0.5–6 mm; bracteoles linear or cup-shaped, to 1 mm. |
absent; bracteoles absent. |
Flowers | 6–13 mm; calyx broadly campanulate, 5–11 mm, glabrous, veins 10, tube 1–5 mm, lobes unequal, elliptic to linear, margins hyaline, dentate or pectinate, ciliate, sinuses narrow, orifice open; corolla white, pink, or purple, 5–13 mm, banner broadly ovate, 6–13 × 4–7 mm, apex rounded, apiculate. |
13–16 mm; calyx cylindric (campanulate in fruit), 6–8 mm, appressed-hairy, veins 10, tube 1–2 mm, lobes erect to slightly spreading, equal or abaxial 2 slightly longer, narrowly triangular, orifice open, hairy; corolla cream or yellowish white, 13–16 mm, banner narrowly spatulate, 13–16 × 3–4 mm, apex obtuse. |
Legumes | short-stipitate, ovoid, 5–10 mm. |
ellipsoid, leathery distally, transversely dehiscent, 2.2–2.5 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, brown, mottled, ovoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth. |
1, yellow, ovoid, 2–2.2 mm, smooth, glossy. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium ciliolatum |
Trifolium alexandrinum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Apr–May. |
Habitat | Oak-pine chaparral, meadows, roadsides. | Disturbed areas, fields. |
Elevation | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) | 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; Mexico (Baja California)
|
CA; w Asia (Syria) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in e Asia (e China), n Africa, Australia] |
Discussion | Trifolium ciliolatum is relatively widespread in California and is found in scattered sites in Baja California, Oregon, and Washington. Trifolium ciliatum Nuttall (1848), which pertains here, is a later homonym of T. ciliatum E. D. Clarke (1813). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Trifolium alexandrinum (known also as berseem, from its Arabic name) has been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for millennia and appears to have been introduced into Egypt in the sixth century (P. B. Kennedy and W. W. Mackie 1925). The origin of T. alexandrinum was long shrouded in mystery, because it appeared that the progenitors of the species were possibly extinct (W. E. Knight 1985b). Examination of similar species using molecular data gave indications that T. berytheum Boissier & C. I. Blanche and T. salmoneum Mouterde might be the primary ancestors from which domestication occurred through artificial selection in Syria (A. Badr et al. 2008). (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. ciliatum var. discolor | |
Name authority | Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 304. (1849) | Linnaeus: Cent. Pl. I, 25. (1755) |
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