Trifolium dubium |
Trifolium gymnocarpon |
|
---|---|---|
least hop clover, lesser hop clover, lesser hop trefoil, little hop clover, shamrock, small hop-clover, suckling clover |
hollyleaf clover, Nuttall's clover |
|
Habit | Herbs annual, 20–40 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy. | Herbs perennial, 2–15 cm, pubescent. |
Stems | erect to prostrate, branched from base. |
cespitose, numerous, short, branched from woody crown. |
Leaves | pinnate; stipules ovate, 0.3–0.5 cm, margins entire, apex acute; petiole to 1.5 cm; lateral leaflet petiolules to 0.5 mm, terminal leaflet stalk 1–1.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades obovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1–2 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base cuneate, lateral veins prominent, ± parallel, ascending, margins dentate distally, apex rounded or retuse, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
palmate; stipules ovate to lanceolate, 0.5–1.5 cm, margins entire or irregularly dentate, apex acute to acuminate; petiole 1.5–10 cm; petiolules to 0.5 mm; leaflets 3–5, blades ovate, obovate, oblong, or elliptic, 0.8–3 × 0.2–1.8 cm, base cuneate, veins thickened distally, margins spinose-dentate, apex rounded or acute, surfaces usually pubescent, sometimes glabrous adaxially. |
Inflorescences | axillary or terminal, 5–20-flowered, ovoid or globose, 0.5–0.9 × 0.6 cm; involucres absent. |
terminal, 6–15-flowered, subglobose, 1–2 × 1.3–2.4 cm; involucres a narrow, membranous, dentate rim, 0.5 mm. |
Peduncles | 1–1.5 cm. |
1–6.5 cm, ± surpassing leaves, not bent distally. |
Pedicels | reflexed, 0.2–0.5 mm; bracteoles a fringe of red setae. |
erect, those of proximal flowers sometimes reflexed, 1–4 mm; bracteoles ovate-triangular, to 0.8 mm. |
Flowers | 2.8–3.5 mm; calyx campanulate, 1.5–2 mm, glabrous, veins 5, tube 0.8–1 mm, lobes unequal, longer than tube, adaxial 2 shorter, orifice open; corolla pale yellow becoming brown, 2.6–3.2 mm, not or slightly ribbed, banner persistent, spatulate, 2.6–3.2 × 2 mm, apex rounded to broadly acute. |
7.5–13 mm; calyx tubular-campanulate, 4–7.5 mm, strigose, veins 10, tube 2–3 mm, lobes subequal, narrowly triangular, orifice open; corolla pink-purple, often with whitish tips, sometimes nearly wholly whitish, 7–12 mm, banner oblong, 7–14 × 5–7 mm, apex rounded, usually retuse. |
Legumes | stipitate, ellipsoid, 1.5–2 mm, short beaked. |
ovoid, 4–5 mm. |
Seeds | 1, yellow or pale brown, ellipsoid, 0.9–1 mm, smooth, glossy. |
1, tan to brown, mitten-shaped, 3–4.5 mm, roughened. |
2n | = 16, 28, 32. |
|
Trifolium dubium |
Trifolium gymnocarpon |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Oct. | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Disturbed ground, fields. | Rocky slopes, clay or gumbo soils on plains. |
Elevation | 0–2300 m. (0–7500 ft.) | 1500–3500 m. (4900–11500 ft.) |
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM; c Europe; s Europe; w Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in s South America, e Asia (e China), n, s Africa, Pacific Islands (Hawaii, New Zealand), Australia]
|
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY
|
Discussion | Trifolium dubium is often confused with Medicago lupulina Linnaeus; the latter may be distinguished by its toothed stipules, deciduous corollas, and shiny, black fruits. Little hop clover may be the co-called shamrock of Irish folklore (E. C. Nelson 1991; P. S. Wyse Jackson 2014); other candidates include other species of Trifolium or species of Medicago or Oxalis. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Two loosely differentiated varieties or subspecies of Trifolium gymnocarpon have sometimes been recognized: var. plummerae with three to five adaxially pilose leaflets, and var. gymnocarpon with three adaxially glabrous leaflets (J. M. Gillett 1972; D. Isely 1998). There is considerable overlap among characters, and other authors have rejected the distinction (M. Zohary and D. Heller 1984; R. C. Barneby 1989). (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 | Chrysaspis dubia, T. minus | T. gymnocarpon var. plummerae, T. gymnocarpon var. subcaulescens, T. nemorale, T. plummerae, T. subcaulescens |
Name authority | Sibthorp: Fl. Oxon., 231. (1794) | Nuttall in J. Torrey and A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 320. (1838) |
Web links |
|