Trifolium dasyphyllum |
Trifolium echinatum |
|
---|---|---|
alpine clover |
prickly clover |
|
Habit | Herbs perennial, 5–20 cm, appressed-pubescent. | Herbs annual, 10–50 cm, appressed-hairy. |
Stems | cespitose, branched, numerous short stems. |
erect or ascending, branched from base. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules lanceolate-linear, 1.5–2 cm, margins entire, apex acuminate; petiole 0.6–3.5 cm; petiolules to 0.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades oblong-elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, sometimes folded, 0.6–3.2 × 0.2–0.6 cm, base cuneate, veins obscure, margins entire, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or hairy. |
palmate; stipules ovate-lanceolate, 0.4–0.8 cm, margins entire, apex acuminate, flared outward; petiole 0.5–6 cm; petiolules 1+ mm; leaflets 3, blades obovate, elliptic, or narrowly elliptic, 0.8–2.5 × 0.4–1.6 cm, base cuneate, veins prominent, thickened abaxially, margins denticulate or serrate, apex rounded, acute, or apiculate, surfaces sparsely hairy. |
Inflorescences | axillary or terminal, 5–16-flowered, globose, 1.5–3.5 × 1.2–3.3 cm; involucres formed of proximal bracteoles, bases sometimes connate. |
terminal and axillary, 15–50-flowered, obconic or obovoid, 1–2 × 1–1.6 cm; involucres absent. |
Peduncles | 2–17 cm. |
0.8–2 cm. |
Pedicels | erect, 1.5–2 mm; bracteoles linear-lanceolate, scarious, 2–6 mm, or scalelike. |
absent; bracteoles absent. |
Flowers | 12–16 mm; calyx campanulate, 6–9 mm, pubescent, veins 10, tube 2–5 mm, lobes unequal, linear-subulate, orifice open; corolla often bicolored cream and violet, sometimes all red-purple or violet, 1.2–1.6 mm, banner broadly elliptic-ovate, 11–15 × 4–5 mm, folded distally, apex rounded, apiculate; ovaries pubescent distally. |
9–11 mm; calyx campanulate, 5–8 mm, glabrescent, veins 10, tube 2–3 mm, lobes unequal, triangular-elliptic, stellate-spreading, orifice closed by bilabiate callosities; corolla creamy white, 8–10 mm, banner oblong-spatulate, 8–10 × 2–3 mm, apex acute. |
Legumes | oblong, 4–6 mm. |
obovoid, leathery distally, transversely dehiscent, 1.6–2 mm. |
Seeds | 1–3, dark brown, ovoid-reniform, 2–2.5 mm, smooth. |
1, tan or brown, ovoid, 1.2–1.4 mm, smooth, glossy. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium dasyphyllum |
Trifolium echinatum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering Mar–Jun. |
Habitat | Alpine meadows, rocky slopes. | Disturbed roadsides, fields. |
Elevation | 2100–4100 m. (6900–13500 ft.) | 100–300 m. (300–1000 ft.) |
Distribution |
CO; MT; NM; UT; WY
|
AL; LA; c Europe; s Europe; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | Three subspecies of Trifolium dasyphyllum were recognized by J. M. Gillett (1965), but he commented on the overlap in diagnostic characters of the subspecies. In their monograph of Trifolium, M. Zohary and D. Heller (1984) mirrored the treatment by Gillett, and also commented on intermediacy of characters in some specimens. The subspecies were not accepted by R. D. Dorn (1988), citing extensive intergradation, or by R. C. Barneby (1989), citing variability within T. dasyphyllum that is not linked with distribution or other morphological features. Trifolium dasyphyllum is found from eastern Utah and from Santa Fe County in New Mexico northward through central Colorado to central and northwestern Wyoming and Cascade, Gallatin, and Madison counties in Montana. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Trifolium echinatum was recently discovered in Ouachita Parish in a disturbed construction area; an older record (1902) from ballast in Portland, Oregon, appears to have been a waif. (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 | ||
Synonyms | T. anemophilum, T. dasyphyllum subsp. anemophilum, T. dasyphyllum subsp. uintense, T. dasyphyllum var. uintense, T. lividum, T. scariosum, T. uintense | |
Name authority | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 315. (1838) | M. Bieberstein: Fl. Taur.-Caucas. 2: 216. (1808) |
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