Trifolium columbinum |
Trifolium ciliolatum |
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olive clover |
foothill clover, tree clover |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 8–30 cm, canescent. | Herbs annual, 5–50 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
Stems | erect, branched from base and distally, or unbranched. |
erect, branched. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules ovate, 0.4–1.2 cm, margins entire, ciliate, apex often purple, acuminate, setaceous; petiole 0.5–8 cm; petiolules 0.5–1 mm; leaflets 3, blades obovate or elliptic, 0.5–3 × 0.3–1.2 cm, base cuneate, veins obscure or slightly thickened, margins dentate, apex rounded or emarginate, surfaces pilose. |
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. |
Inflorescences | terminal or axillary, 25–50-flowered, ovoid-ellipsoid, 1–2.5 × 1.2–2.5 cm; involucres absent. |
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. |
Peduncles | 3–11 cm. |
2.5–12 cm. |
Pedicels | absent; bracteoles cuplike, to 0.5 mm. |
erect becoming reflexed, 0.5–6 mm; bracteoles linear or cup-shaped, to 1 mm. |
Flowers | 6–10 mm; calyx tubular, 8–14 mm, densely pubescent, veins 20–30, tube 1–2 mm, lobes nearly equal, appearing rigidly erect, linear-setaceous, plumose, sinuses acute, orifice open; corolla sometimes absent, red-violet, often with white tips, 4–6 mm, banner ovate-oblong, 7–8 × 2–3 mm, apex broadly rounded, apiculate. |
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. |
Legumes | obovoid, 3–3.5 mm. |
short-stipitate, ovoid, 5–10 mm. |
Seeds | 1, yellow-brown, ellipsoid, 2–2.5 mm, smooth. |
1 or 2, brown, mottled, ovoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
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Trifolium columbinum |
Trifolium ciliolatum |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–May. | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Grassy slopes, meadows, heavy adobe/clay soils, oak woodland foothills. | Oak-pine chaparral, meadows, roadsides. |
Elevation | 0–1400 m. (0–4600 ft.) | 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA |
CA; OR; WA; Mexico (Baja California)
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Discussion | D. Isely (1998) stated that Central Valley populations of Trifolium columbinum appeared to be extinct and populations outside that region (and here recognized as the same taxon) were similar in calyx and corolla proportions. It is rather widespread in California, ranging from Humboldt County southward to Santa Barbara County, and eastward into counties ranging from Shasta southward to Inyo, Kern, and Placer counties. Trifolium albopurpureum var. olivaceum (Greene) Isely and T. columbinum var. olivaceum (Greene) Jepson are illegitimate names that pertain here (D. J. Keil 2019). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | T. albopurpureum var. columbinum, T. columbinum var. argillorum, T. olivaceum, T. olivaceum var. columbinum, T. olivaceum var. griseum | T. ciliatum var. discolor |
Name authority | Greene: Pittonia 1: 4. (1887) | Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 304. (1849) |
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