Trifolium hybridum |
Trifolium piorkowskii |
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Alsike clover |
marshmallow clover, Piorkowski's clover |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, 10–70 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy. | Herbs annual, 7–30 cm, glabrous. |
Stems | erect or ascending, branched. |
erect or ascending, sparsely to much branched. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules obovate or lanceolate, 1–2.5 cm, margins entire or toothed, apex long-acuminate; petiole 1–21 cm; petiolules 1 mm; leaflets 3, blades usually obovate or ovate, rarely rhombic, 1–4 × 1–2.5 cm, base cuneate, veins prominent, margins sharply serrate, apex broadly acute, obtuse, or emarginate, surfaces glabrous. |
palmate; stipules ovate-lanceolate, 1–1.5 cm, margins entire, apex acute-acuminate; petiole 8–12 cm; petiolules 1 mm; leaflets 3, blades oblanceolate or obovate, 2.8 × 1.9 cm, base cuneate, veins delicate, margins entire or shallowly dentate distally, lateral veins sometimes ending in a bristle, apex rounded to acute, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | terminal or axillary, 10–70+-flowered, globose to subglobose, 1–2.5 × 1–2.5 cm, rachis not prolonged beyond flowers; involucres absent. |
axillary or terminal, 3–16-flowered, in 1–3 whorls, subglobose, 2–2.8 × 1.8–2.6 cm; involucres bowl-shaped, 6–15 mm, lobes 6–8, broadly lanceolate, margins entire, acuminate, apex 3–5-fid. |
Peduncles | 2–10 cm. |
5–15 cm. |
Pedicels | strongly reflexed, 2–3.5 mm; bracteoles lanceolate, 1 mm. |
straight, 0.5–1 mm; bracteoles absent. |
Flowers | 8–12 mm; calyx campanulate, 3.5–4 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy, veins 10, tube 1.5–2 mm, lobes unequal, lanceolate-subulate, orifice open; corolla pale to dark pink, 7–10 mm, banner ovate-oblong, 6.5–10.5 × 4–6 mm, apex rounded-denticulate. |
12–14 mm; calyx campanulate, 5–8 mm, glabrous, veins 10, tube 2.5–4 mm, lobes 11–15, unequal, abaxial 3–5 forked, adaxial unbranched, orifice open; corolla creamy white to pinkish, 11–13 mm, banner ovate, inflated entire length in fruit, not distally twisted, 11–13 × 5–7 mm, apex rounded. |
Legumes | stipitate, ellipsoid, 3–7 mm. |
ellipsoid, 5–6 mm. |
Seeds | 2–4, tan, brown, or red-brown, mitten-shaped, 1–1.4 mm, smooth, dull. |
1 or 2, gray-brown, black-mottled, subglobose, 2.5 mm, smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
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Trifolium hybridum |
Trifolium piorkowskii |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Oct. | Flowering Apr–May. |
Habitat | Roadsides, open woods, edges, fields, meadows, waste places. | Shallow, vernally wet depressions on volcanic flats, banks of watercourses flowing through open rocky grassland, transitional habitats with scattered chaparral and conifers. |
Elevation | 0–1800 m. (0–5900 ft.) | 300–800 m. (1000–2600 ft.) |
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; 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; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; SPM; Greenland; Europe; w Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America, Europe, elsewhere in Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
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CA |
Discussion | Trifolium hybridum is widely cultivated as a forage crop. It may cause dermatitis in humans (J. W. Hardin and J. M. Arena 1974) and is implicated as a cause of dermatitis and biliary fibrosis in horses (C. Fisher 1995); the connection between the clover and the diseases is inconclusive (P. N. Nation 1989). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Trifolium piorkowskii is known only from Shasta County. (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 | Amoria hybrida, T. elegans | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 766. (1753) | Rand. Morgan & A. L. Barber: Novon, 23: 65, plate 1. (2014) |
Web links |
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