Trifolium macraei |
Trifolium calcaricum |
|
---|---|---|
Chilean clover, Macrae's clover |
running glade clover |
|
Habit | Herbs annual, 3–30 cm, pubescent. | Herbs perennial, 10–15 cm, glabrous or glabrate. |
Stems | erect, ascending, or prostrate, branched. |
creeping, branched, rooting at nodes. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules ovate to oblong, 0.6–1 cm, margins entire, apex acuminate to cuspidate; petiole 0.5–6 cm; petiolules to 0.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades obovate, oblanceolate, or elliptic, 0.6–1.6 × 0.3–1.2 cm, base cuneate, veins obscure or slightly thickened, margins subentire to serrate, apex rounded, retuse, surfaces pubescent. |
palmate; stipules lanceolate or ovate, 0.5–1 cm, margins entire or shallowly lobed, apex acute to cuspidate; petiole 3–13(–25) cm; petiolules 1 mm; leaflets 3, blades obovate, rhombic, or elliptic, 1–1.9 × 0.8–1.2 cm, base cuneate, veins prominent, margins minutely denticulate or entire, apex rounded, emarginate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
Inflorescences | terminal or subterminal, usually paired, sometimes one head slightly stalked, partially hidden by terminal leaves and stipules, 10–40-flowered, ovoid or subglobose, 0.8–2.5 × 0.5–2 cm; involucres absent, involucrelike structure formed from terminal leaves and stipules. |
terminal, 25–50-flowered, globose, 1.8–2.2 × 1.8–2.2 cm; involucres absent. |
Peduncles | 0–0.2 cm. |
1 or 2 from end of stolon at ground-level, 10–12 cm. |
Pedicels | absent; bracteoles broadly ovate to linear, 1–2 mm. |
reflexed in fruit, 2–3 mm; bracteoles triangular-acuminate, 0.5–1.5 mm. |
Flowers | 5.5–7.5 mm; calyx tubular, 4–5 mm, pubescent, veins 5–10, tube 1.5–2 mm, lobes subequal, subulate, orifice open; corolla usually purple or pink, rarely white, 5–7 mm, banner obovate-oblong, 6–7 × 2–3 mm, apex rounded, slightly denticulate. |
9–11 mm; calyx campanulate, 4.5–5.5 mm, sparsely puberulent, veins 10, tube 2 mm, lobes equal, narrowly triangular to subulate, orifice open; corolla white, veins often reddish, 8–9 mm, banner obovate-oblong, 9–11 × 5–6 mm, apex rounded, retuse. |
Legumes | oblong, 2.5–3 mm. |
stipitate, ellipsoid, 2–3.5 mm. |
Seeds | 1, yellow, mottled, ellipsoid, 1.6–2 mm, smooth. |
1 or 2, light brown, mitten-shaped, 1.1–1.5 mm, smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium macraei |
Trifolium calcaricum |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Jun. | Flowering May–Jun. |
Habitat | Grassy fields, sandy ocean bluffs. | Shallow soils on limestone glades. |
Elevation | 0–800 m. (0–2600 ft.) | 100–500 m. (300–1600 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; South America (Chile)
|
TN; VA |
Discussion | Trifolium macraei was described from specimens collected in Chile; the South American plants have broader banners, smaller auricles on the wing petals, and styles that are barely curved upwards distally (D. Isely 1998). Further examination of the disjunct populations may reveal other differences and prompt reconsideration of the identity of North American specimens. The record from Massachusetts is a waif. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Trifolium calcaricum is endemic to xeric limestone prairies and in limestone cedar glades in western Virginia and eastern and central Tennessee (J. L. Collins and T. F. Wieboldt 1992; P. J. Lawless et al. 2006). (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 | T. bicephalum, T. catalinae, T. mercedense, T. traskiae | |
Name authority | Hooker & Arnott: Bot. Misc. 3: 179. (1833) | J. L. Collins & Wieboldt: Castanea 57: 282, figs. 1, 2. (1992) |
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