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foothill clover, tree clover

balloon sack clover, cowbag clover, dwarf sack clover, poverty clover

Habit Herbs annual, 5–50 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy. Herbs annual, 1–30 cm, glabrous.
Stems

erect, branched.

erect or decumbent, 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 sheathing proximally, ovate-oblong to lanceolate, 0.4–1.3 cm, margins entire or serrulate, apex short triangular-cuspidate;

petiole 1–5 cm;

petiolules to 1 mm;

leaflets 3, blades lanceolate, linear, obovate, or oblanceolate, 0.4–2.5 × 0.1–0.7 cm, base cuneate, veins moderately thickened abaxially, margins entire, serrate, or pinnately lobed, apex rounded, truncate, acute, or retuse, surfaces glabrous.

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.

axillary or terminal, 3–15-flowered, globose or depressed-globose, 0.5–1.5 × 0.5–1.5 cm;

involucres flattened, 3–13 mm, ± distinct or incised 1/2 their length, lobes 5–7, linear to elliptic or irregular, or vestigial, reduced to narrow ring, apex rounded to broad and irregularly erose, not split.

Peduncles

2.5–12 cm.

2–6 cm.

Pedicels

erect becoming reflexed, 0.5–6 mm;

bracteoles linear or cup-shaped, to 1 mm.

straight, 0–0.5 mm;

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.

3–10 mm;

calyx campanulate, 2–5 mm, glabrous, veins 5, tube 1–2.5 mm, lobes unequal, triangular-lanceolate or subulate, orifice open;

corolla white or pink, 3–11 mm, inflated in fruit, banner broadly ovate, 4–7 × 3–8 mm, apex rounded, broad, acute, or retuse.

Legumes

short-stipitate, ovoid, 5–10 mm.

sessile or stipitate, ovoid, obovoid, or oblong, 2–4 mm.

Seeds

1 or 2, brown, mottled, ovoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth.

1–6, gray or tan, mottled, mitten-shaped, 1.2–1.6 mm, irregularly bumpy.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Trifolium ciliolatum

Trifolium depauperatum

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Oak-pine chaparral, meadows, roadsides.
Elevation 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
w North America; nw Mexico; c North America; South America (Chile, Peru)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

The three varieties of Trifolium depauperatum are relatively easily distinguished by characteristics of the involucres and fruit stipes. Leaf morphology is not helpful in making the distinctions; in each variety, leaf margins can range from nearly entire or toothed or laciniate. In the phylogenetic treatment by N. W. Ellison et al. (2006), T. depauperatum is not allied with T. fucatum and other clovers with inflated corollas but rather with T. obtusiflorum, T. trichocalyx, and T. willdenovii (although with weak support).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Involucres reduced to narrow vestigial ring; inflorescences 1–1.5 cm diam.; flowers 7–10 mm; legumes ovoid, 3–4 mm, sessile.
var. depauperatum
1. Involucres with evident bracts; inflorescences 0.5–1 cm diam.; flowers 3–8 mm; legumes oblong, ovoid, or obovoid, 2–4 mm, sessile or stipes 0.5–1 mm.
→ 2
2. Involucral lobes broad, irregular, with broad, hyaline margins and reticulate veins; legumes oblong, 3–4 mm, ± sessile.
var. amplectens
2. Involucral lobes oblong, often with narrow hyaline margins and raised, parallel veins; legumes ovoid or obovoid, 2–3 mm, stipes 0.5–1 mm.
var. truncatum
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium
Sibling taxa
T. albopurpureum, T. alexandrinum, T. amoenum, T. amphianthum, T. andersonii, T. andinum, T. angustifolium, T. appendiculatum, T. arvense, T. attenuatum, T. aureum, T. barbigerum, T. barnebyi, T. beckwithii, T. bejariense, T. bifidum, T. bolanderi, T. brandegeei, T. breweri, T. buckwestiorum, T. calcaricum, T. campestre, T. carolinianum, T. cernuum, T. columbinum, T. cyathiferum, T. dasyphyllum, T. dedeckerae, T. depauperatum, T. dichotomum, T. douglasii, T. dubium, T. echinatum, T. eriocephalum, T. fragiferum, T. friscanum, T. fucatum, T. glomeratum, T. gracilentum, T. grayi, T. gymnocarpon, T. haydenii, T. hirtum, T. howellii, T. hybridum, T. hydrophilum, T. incarnatum, T. jokerstii, T. kentuckiense, T. kingii, T. lappaceum, T. latifolium, T. leibergii, T. lemmonii, T. longipes, T. lupinaster, T. macilentum, T. macraei, T. macrocephalum, T. medium, T. microcephalum, T. microdon, T. monanthum, T. mucronatum, T. nanum, T. nigrescens, T. obtusiflorum, T. oliganthum, T. ornithopodioides, T. owyheense, T. palmeri, T. parryi, T. pinetorum, T. piorkowskii, T. plumosum, T. polyodon, T. pratense, T. productum, T. reflexum, T. repens, T. resupinatum, T. retusum, T. rollinsii, T. siskiyouense, T. sonorense, T. stoloniferum, T. striatum, T. subterraneum, T. suffocatum, T. thompsonii, T. tomentosum, T. trichocalyx, T. variegatum, T. vesiculosum, T. virginicum, T. willdenovii, T. wormskioldii
T. albopurpureum, T. alexandrinum, T. amoenum, T. amphianthum, T. andersonii, T. andinum, T. angustifolium, T. appendiculatum, T. arvense, T. attenuatum, T. aureum, T. barbigerum, T. barnebyi, T. beckwithii, T. bejariense, T. bifidum, T. bolanderi, T. brandegeei, T. breweri, T. buckwestiorum, T. calcaricum, T. campestre, T. carolinianum, T. cernuum, T. ciliolatum, T. columbinum, T. cyathiferum, T. dasyphyllum, T. dedeckerae, T. dichotomum, T. douglasii, T. dubium, T. echinatum, T. eriocephalum, T. fragiferum, T. friscanum, T. fucatum, T. glomeratum, T. gracilentum, T. grayi, T. gymnocarpon, T. haydenii, T. hirtum, T. howellii, T. hybridum, T. hydrophilum, T. incarnatum, T. jokerstii, T. kentuckiense, T. kingii, T. lappaceum, T. latifolium, T. leibergii, T. lemmonii, T. longipes, T. lupinaster, T. macilentum, T. macraei, T. macrocephalum, T. medium, T. microcephalum, T. microdon, T. monanthum, T. mucronatum, T. nanum, T. nigrescens, T. obtusiflorum, T. oliganthum, T. ornithopodioides, T. owyheense, T. palmeri, T. parryi, T. pinetorum, T. piorkowskii, T. plumosum, T. polyodon, T. pratense, T. productum, T. reflexum, T. repens, T. resupinatum, T. retusum, T. rollinsii, T. siskiyouense, T. sonorense, T. stoloniferum, T. striatum, T. subterraneum, T. suffocatum, T. thompsonii, T. tomentosum, T. trichocalyx, T. variegatum, T. vesiculosum, T. virginicum, T. willdenovii, T. wormskioldii
Subordinate taxa
T. depauperatum var. amplectens, T. depauperatum var. depauperatum, T. depauperatum var. truncatum
Synonyms T. ciliatum var. discolor Lupinaster depauperatus
Name authority Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 304. (1849) Desvaux: J. Bot. Agric. 4: 69, plate 32, fig. 2. (1814)
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