Trifolium ciliolatum
Trifolium wormskioldii
foothill clover, tree clover
coast clover, cow clover, cows clover, salt marsh clover, springbank clover, wormskjold's clover
erect, branched.
erect, ascending, or decumbent, branched.
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 ovate to lanceolate, 1.5–2 cm, margins entire (proximal stipules) or lacerate (distal stipules), apex acute to acuminate;
petiole 1–11 cm;
petiolules 0.5 mm;
leaflets 3, blades obovate to elliptic, 0.4–4.2 × 0.2–1.3 cm, base cuneate or rounded, veins fine or thickened distally, margins spinulose-serrate, apex usually acute to rounded, sometimes retuse or mucronate, 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.
axillary or terminal, 20–50-flowered, subglobose or globose, 1.8–2.5 × 2–2.5 cm;
involucres broadly bowl-shaped, 12–20 mm, incised 1/3–1/2 their length, lobes 10+, sharply and acutely serrate, veins prominent.
2.5–12 cm.
1.5–11 cm.
erect becoming reflexed, 0.5–6 mm;
bracteoles linear or cup-shaped, to 1 mm.
straight, 1.5–2 mm;
bracteoles linear or ovate, 1–2 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.
12–14 mm, odor somewhat unpleasant;
calyx whitish, tubular, 5–6 mm, glabrous, veins 10, tube 2–3 mm, lobes green to purple, subequal, abaxial rarely longer than tube, orifice open;
corolla usually magenta to purple, rarely white or bicolored, 10–12 mm, banner ovate-oblong, 12–14 × 2–3 mm, apex truncate or rounded, slightly retuse.
short-stipitate, ovoid, 5–10 mm.
oblong, 2–4 mm.
1 or 2, brown, mottled, ovoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth.
3 or 4, brown, sometimes mottled, subglobose or mitten-shaped, 1.5 mm, smooth.
= 16.
= 16, 32.
Trifolium ciliolatum
Trifolium wormskioldii
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 wormskioldii is largely tetraploid and is widespread in western North America. Distinguishing T. wormskioldii from closely allied species (especially T. mucronatum) is sometimes difficult, which led R. C. Barneby (1989) to synonymize T. mucronatum and T. pinetorum under the former name. Trifolium wormskioldii produces long, white rhizomes; T. mucronatum produces only short rhizomes at most, often only small, fibrous roots or taproots (J. M. Gillett 1980). The distinction of T. pinetorum from T. wormskioldii was supported by N. W. Ellison et al. (2006); those authors did not include material of T. mucronatum in their DNA analyses.
Trifolium wormskioldii rhizomes may have been a food resource for Native American groups in the Pacific Northwest (N. J. Turner and H. V. Kuhnlein 1982).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
