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hollyleaf clover, Nuttall's clover

Habit Herbs perennial, 2–15 cm, pubescent.
Stems

cespitose, numerous, short, branched from woody crown.

Leaves

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

terminal, 6–15-flowered, subglobose, 1–2 × 1.3–2.4 cm;

involucres a narrow, membranous, dentate rim, 0.5 mm.

Peduncles

1–6.5 cm, ± surpassing leaves, not bent distally.

Pedicels

erect, those of proximal flowers sometimes reflexed, 1–4 mm;

bracteoles ovate-triangular, to 0.8 mm.

Flowers

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

ovoid, 4–5 mm.

Seeds

1, tan to brown, mitten-shaped, 3–4.5 mm, roughened.

Trifolium gymnocarpon

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Rocky slopes, clay or gumbo soils on plains.
Elevation 1500–3500 m. (4900–11500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WY
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium
Sibling taxa
T. albopurpureum, T. alexandrinum, T. amoenum, T. amphianthum, T. andersonii, T. andinum, T. angustifolium, T. appendiculatum, T. arvense, T. attenuatum, T. aureum, T. barbigerum, T. barnebyi, T. beckwithii, T. bejariense, T. bifidum, T. bolanderi, T. brandegeei, T. breweri, T. buckwestiorum, T. calcaricum, T. campestre, T. carolinianum, T. cernuum, T. ciliolatum, T. columbinum, T. cyathiferum, T. dasyphyllum, T. dedeckerae, T. depauperatum, T. dichotomum, T. douglasii, T. dubium, T. echinatum, T. eriocephalum, T. fragiferum, T. friscanum, T. fucatum, T. glomeratum, T. gracilentum, T. grayi, T. haydenii, T. hirtum, T. howellii, T. hybridum, T. hydrophilum, T. incarnatum, T. jokerstii, T. kentuckiense, T. kingii, T. lappaceum, T. latifolium, T. leibergii, T. lemmonii, T. longipes, T. lupinaster, T. macilentum, T. macraei, T. macrocephalum, T. medium, T. microcephalum, T. microdon, T. monanthum, T. mucronatum, T. nanum, T. nigrescens, T. obtusiflorum, T. oliganthum, T. ornithopodioides, T. owyheense, T. palmeri, T. parryi, T. pinetorum, T. piorkowskii, T. plumosum, T. polyodon, T. pratense, T. productum, T. reflexum, T. repens, T. resupinatum, T. retusum, T. rollinsii, T. siskiyouense, T. sonorense, T. stoloniferum, T. striatum, T. subterraneum, T. suffocatum, T. thompsonii, T. tomentosum, T. trichocalyx, T. variegatum, T. vesiculosum, T. virginicum, T. willdenovii, T. wormskioldii
Synonyms T. gymnocarpon var. plummerae, T. gymnocarpon var. subcaulescens, T. nemorale, T. plummerae, T. subcaulescens
Name authority Nuttall in J. Torrey and A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 320. (1838)
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