Trifolium eriocephalum
Trifolium mucronatum
woolly-head clover
cusp clover
erect or decumbent, branched.
palmate;
stipules lanceolate or ovate, 1–5 cm, margins entire or denticulate, apex acuminate or acute;
petiole 1–15 cm;
petiolules 1 mm;
leaflets 3, blades linear, linear-elliptic, elliptic, lanceolate, lanceolate-oblong, or obovate, 1–5 × 0.4–1.2 cm, base cuneate, veins fine or ± thickened, margins denticulate or serrulate, apex acuminate or acute, surfaces appressed-pubescent abaxially, glabrous, densely villous, or sparsely or densely pilose adaxially.
terminal or axillary, 25–70-flowered, inverted or horizontal, ellipsoid or globose to subglobose, 2–3 × 1–3 cm, rachis prolonged beyond flowers;
involucres absent.
bent distally, proximal to flowers, 3–18 cm.
reflexed, to 0.3 mm;
bracteoles absent.
9–18 mm;
calyx campanulate, curved in fruit, 4–11 mm, villous, veins 10, tube 1.5–2.5 mm, lobes unequal, 2–3 times tube, subulate, often strongly curved and twisted, plumose, orifice open;
corolla white, cream, or purple, 8–16 mm, banner oblanceolate, 8–16 × 3–5 mm, apex rounded or retuse, recurved;
ovaries pubescent distally.
ovoid, 2–3.5 mm.
(1 or)2–4, yellow-brown to brown, mitten-shaped or subglobose, 1.2–2 mm, smooth.
difficulty of distinguishing Trifolium mucronatum from T. wormskioldii is discussed under 33. T. wormskioldii.
in the United States represent T. mucronatum subsp. lacerum; in Mexico, subsp. lacerum is found in the north, subsp. mucronatum (petals pink or reddish, flowers 1.5–1.7 cm, inflorescences 2.5–3.5 cm diam.) is widespread, and subsp. vaughanae J.
.;
m .
(petals lavender or white, flowers 1.2–1.4 cm, inflorescences 1.5–2 cm diam.) is restricted to central Mexico (Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí) (J.; gillett 1980).
Trifolium eriocephalum
Trifolium mucronatum
Subspecies 6 (6 in the flora).
Trifolium eriocephalum was revised by J. M. Gillett (1971). The subspecies exhibit unusually complex distributional patterns, and overlapping morphological features sometimes make identifications problematic (M. Zohary and D. Heller 1984).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 3 (1 in the flora).
Trifolium involucratum Ortega (1797), which pertains here, is a later homonym of T. involucratum Lamarck (1778, = T. cherleri Linnaeus).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Ovules usually 2, rarely 1 or 3; calyx lobes usually green, rarely purple, straight, subequal, 3–4 timestube. | → 2 |
2. Herbs densely villous; leaflet blades of basal and median leaves elliptic or lanceolate-oblong; roots cylindric, thickened. | subsp. eriocephalum |
2. Herbs slightly villous, appressed-pubescent, or glabrate; leaflet blades of basal and median leaves usually narrowly lanceolate or linear, rarely narrowly elliptic; roots fusiform-tuberous. | subsp. cascadense |
1. Ovules 3 or 4; calyx lobes usually purple, contorted, abaxial lobes longer, lateral lobes 1–1.5 times tube. | → 3 |
3. Leaflet blades of basal leaves linear or linear-elliptic, apex acute, surfaces sparsely or densely hairy adaxially; roots cylindric, thickened, branched, often rhizomelike. | → 4 |
4. Blades of leaflets of median leaves linear or linear-elliptic; herbs slightly villous. | subsp. cusickii |
4. Blades of leaflets of median leaves broadly elliptic; herbs densely villous. | subsp. villiferum |
3. Leaflet blades of basal leaves obovate, apex rounded to retuse, surfaces usually glabrous adaxially, sometimes sparsely hairy; roots fusiform-tuberous. | → 5 |
5. Inflorescences 2.5 cm diam., significantly overtopping distal leaves; leaflet blades of median leaves broadly lanceolate, surfaces sparsely hairy or glabrous adaxially. | subsp. arcuatum |
5. Inflorescences 1 cm diam., scarcely overtopping distal leaves; leaflet blades of median leaves narrowly lanceolate or linear, surfaces densely villous adaxially. | subsp. martinii |
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
