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lupine clover

Habit Herbs perennial, 15–50 cm, glabrous or curly-pilose.
Stems

erect, unbranched or branched distally.

Leaves

palmate;

stipules adnate entire length of petiole, sheathing, lanceolate-oblong, 0.8–1.3 cm, margins sharply and finely serrate, pilose, apex acute;

petiole 0.5–0.7 cm;

petiolules 0.5 mm;

leaflets (3–)5(–9), blades elliptic to linear-elliptic, 1–4 × 0.3–1.4 cm, base cuneate, veins prominent, cartilagenous, ending in sharp, curved teeth, margins setaceous, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous except midrib abaxially.

Inflorescences

terminal or axillary, 10–30-flowered, hemispheric or globose, 1.7–2.3 × 2.7–3.3 cm;

involucres oblique, to 0.5 mm, wavy to toothed.

Peduncles

1–5 cm.

Pedicels

erect or horizontal, 1–3 mm;

bracteoles broadly shell-shaped, sometimes connate into lobed ridge, to 0.5 mm.

Flowers

11–17 mm;

calyx campanulate, oblique, 6–9 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy distally and along veins, veins 10, tube 3 mm, lobes subequal, pilose, abaxial slightly longer, subulate, orifice open;

corolla white to rose-purple, 10–15 mm, banner rolled into open tube, arched upwards distally, 10–15 × 4–5 mm, apex broadly rounded or acute, apiculate.

Legumes

oblong, 6–8 mm.

Seeds

3–6, dark brown or gray-brown, globose-reniform, 1.5–2 mm, slightly roughened, dull.

2n

= 16, 32, 40, 48.

Trifolium lupinaster

Phenology Flowering Jun.
Habitat Forest glades, meadows.
Elevation 0–400 m. (0–1300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; Asia (n China, Russia) [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Populations of Trifolium lupinaster in Alaska appear to have been introduced as a potential forage crop and spread from cultivation (D. F. Murray and H. F. Drury 1974).

(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. gymnocarpon, 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. 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 Lupinaster pentaphyllus, Pentaphyllon lupinaster
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 766. (1753)
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