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big-head clover, large-head clover

burdock clover

Habit Herbs perennial, 5–25 cm, villous. Herbs annual, 5–60 cm, hirsute or glabrous.
Stems

erect or ascending, branched.

erect to decumbent, branched.

Leaves

palmate;

stipules ovate, obovate, or oblong, 1–3 cm, margins entire, irregularly lobed, or serrate, apex acute or acuminate;

petiole 1–14 cm;

petiolules 0.9–1.2 mm;

leaflets (5–)7–9, blades broadly to narrowly obovate, often folded, 1–2.7 × 0.4–1.1 cm, base cuneate, veins thickened, especially distally, margins serrulate, apex rounded or truncate, apiculate, surfaces villous abaxially, sparsely villous to glabrate adaxially.

palmate;

stipules oblong, 0.5–1.9 cm, margins entire, apex lanceolate-subulate;

petiole 0.3–5 cm;

petiolules 1 mm;

leaflets 3, blades ovate to obovate, 0.5–1.5 × 0.3–2 cm, base cuneate, veins fine, margins denticulate to dentate, apex rounded, truncate, or emarginate, surfaces hirsute.

Inflorescences

terminal, 20–32-flowered, globose or ovoid-ellipsoid, 2.5–8 × 3–7 cm;

involucres absent.

terminal, 40–60-flowered, globose or ovoid, burlike, not disarticulating at maturity, 1–1.4 × 1.8–2 cm;

involucres absent.

Peduncles

2–8 cm.

0.1–0.7 cm.

Pedicels

erect, 1–1.5 mm;

bracteoles broadly ovate, membranous, to 0.5 mm, truncate.

straight, 0.5 mm;

bracteoles absent.

Flowers

20–30 mm;

calyx campanulate, 10–22 mm, villous, veins 10–15, tube 2.5–4 mm, lobes subequal, subulate, plumose, orifice open;

corolla white, creamy white, or pinkish, keel petals deep pink, 20–28 mm, banner ovate or oblong, 20–28 × 10–13 mm, apex rounded or slightly emarginate.

7–9 mm;

calyx campanulate, 7–9 mm, glabrous, veins 20, tube 3 mm, lobes equal, longer than tube, setaceous becoming spinose, orifice hairy, open;

corolla pinkish white, 6–10 mm, banner elliptic, 6–9 × 1.5–2 mm, apex emarginate.

Legumes

ovoid, 4–5 mm.

ovoid, leathery distally, transversely dehiscent, 1.5 mm, long-beaked.

Seeds

1 or 2, yellow or reddish, mitten-shaped to ellipsoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth.

1, light brown, reddish, or yellow with reddish spots, ovoid, 1 mm, smooth, shiny.

2n

= 32, 48.

= 16.

Trifolium macrocephalum

Trifolium lappaceum

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat Rocky places, hard, compacted clay-gumbo, lava beds, sage-covered slopes, full sun. Fields, roadsides, grassy areas.
Elevation 80–2500 m. (300–8200 ft.) 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; LA; MS; NC; NJ; PA; SC; TN; TX; s Europe; w Asia; n Africa; Atlantic Islands (Canary Islands) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in s South America (Uruguay), s Africa, Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Trifolium macrocephalum has the largest inflorescences of any clover. Trifolium megacephalum Nuttall (1818) is an illegitimate replacement name for Lupinaster macrocephalum Pursh.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Trifolium lappaceum was introduced to the United States about 1903; it has been used as a winter annual pasture and hay crop (E. A. Hollowell 1939), as well as in roadside grass plantings as a nitrogen source.

(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
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. lupinaster, T. macilentum, T. macraei, 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
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. 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 Lupinaster macrocephalum
Name authority (Pursh) Poiret in J. Lamarck et al.: Encycl., suppl. 5: 336. (1817) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 768. (1753)
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