Trifolium ciliolatum
Trifolium stoloniferum
foothill clover, tree clover
running buffalo clover
erect, branched.
creeping, branched, rooting at nodes.
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, opposite or subopposite on erect stems;
stipules lanceolate (on prostrate stems) or ovate (on erect stems), 1–2 cm, margins entire or shallowly serrate, apex acuminate;
petioles 6–15 cm on prostrate stems, 0.5–4 cm on erect stems;
petiolules 1 mm;
leaflets 3, blades broadly ovate or obcordate, 1–2 × 0.5–2.5 cm, base broadly cuneate to rounded, veins fine, margins serrate, apex emarginate or rounded, surfaces glabrous.
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, single or paired at tip of upright stem, 15–30-flowered, globose, 2–3.5 × 2–3.5 cm;
involucres absent.
2.5–12 cm.
2–7 cm.
erect becoming reflexed, 0.5–6 mm;
bracteoles linear or cup-shaped, to 1 mm.
elongated and strongly reflexed in fruit, 2–5 mm;
bracteoles lanceolate, 2 mm.
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.
9–15 mm;
calyx campanulate, 4–7 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, veins 10, tube 1.3–3.3 mm, lobes subequal, subulate, orifice open;
corolla white, veins often pinkish, 8–14 mm, banner ovate or oblong, 8–14 × 4–5 mm, apex rounded or emarginate.
short-stipitate, ovoid, 5–10 mm.
oblong, 2.5–3 mm.
1 or 2, brown, mottled, ovoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth.
1 or 2, tan to brown, reniform, 1.3–2 mm, smooth.
= 16.
= 16.
Trifolium ciliolatum
Trifolium stoloniferum
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 stoloniferum was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in the early 1980s (R. L. Bartgis 1985). It is now known from extant populations scattered throughout much of its original range, in five of the original eight states in which it was found historically (D. J. Crawford et al. 1998); it was discovered in Greene County, Pennsylvania, in 2017, but appears to be extirpated in Arkansas, Illinois, and Kansas. R. J. Hickey et al. (1991) examined genetic diversity of T. stoloniferum populations using allozymes and found low diversity, with some populations appearing genetically uniform. Molecular studies using RAPDs (Crawford et al.) indicated somewhat higher genetic diversity, even in relatively small populations.
Trifolium stoloniferum is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
MO Plants
