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foothill clover, tree clover

burdock clover

Habit Herbs annual, 5–50 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy. Herbs annual, 5–60 cm, hirsute or glabrous.
Stems

erect, branched.

erect to 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 oblong, 0.5–1.9 cm, margins entire, apex lanceolate-subulate;

petiole 0.3–5 cm;

petiolules 1 mm;

leaflets 3, blades ovate to obovate, 0.5–1.5 × 0.3–2 cm, base cuneate, veins fine, margins denticulate to dentate, apex rounded, truncate, or emarginate, surfaces hirsute.

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, 40–60-flowered, globose or ovoid, burlike, not disarticulating at maturity, 1–1.4 × 1.8–2 cm;

involucres absent.

Peduncles

2.5–12 cm.

0.1–0.7 cm.

Pedicels

erect becoming reflexed, 0.5–6 mm;

bracteoles linear or cup-shaped, to 1 mm.

straight, 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.

7–9 mm;

calyx campanulate, 7–9 mm, glabrous, veins 20, tube 3 mm, lobes equal, longer than tube, setaceous becoming spinose, orifice hairy, open;

corolla pinkish white, 6–10 mm, banner elliptic, 6–9 × 1.5–2 mm, apex emarginate.

Legumes

short-stipitate, ovoid, 5–10 mm.

ovoid, leathery distally, transversely dehiscent, 1.5 mm, long-beaked.

Seeds

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

1, light brown, reddish, or yellow with reddish spots, ovoid, 1 mm, smooth, shiny.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Trifolium ciliolatum

Trifolium lappaceum

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat Oak-pine chaparral, meadows, roadsides. Fields, roadsides, grassy areas.
Elevation 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; LA; MS; NC; NJ; PA; SC; TN; TX; s Europe; w Asia; n Africa; Atlantic Islands (Canary Islands) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in s South America (Uruguay), s Africa, Australia]
[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.)

Trifolium lappaceum was introduced to the United States about 1903; it has been used as a winter annual pasture and hay crop (E. A. Hollowell 1939), as well as in roadside grass plantings as a nitrogen source.

(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
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. 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. 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
Synonyms T. ciliatum var. discolor
Name authority Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 304. (1849) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 768. (1753)
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