Trifolium macrocephalum |
Trifolium mucronatum |
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big-head clover, large-head clover |
cusp clover |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, 5–25 cm, villous. | |
Stems | erect or ascending, branched. |
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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. |
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Inflorescences | terminal, 20–32-flowered, globose or ovoid-ellipsoid, 2.5–8 × 3–7 cm; involucres absent. |
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Peduncles | 2–8 cm. |
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Pedicels | erect, 1–1.5 mm; bracteoles broadly ovate, membranous, to 0.5 mm, truncate. |
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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. |
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Legumes | ovoid, 4–5 mm. |
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Seeds | 1 or 2, yellow or reddish, mitten-shaped to ellipsoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth. |
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The | difficulty of distinguishing Trifolium mucronatum from T. wormskioldii is discussed under 33. T. wormskioldii. |
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Populations | in the United States represent T. mucronatum subsp. lacerum; in Mexico, subsp. lacerum is found in the north, subsp. mucronatum (petals pink or reddish, flowers 1.5–1.7 cm, inflorescences 2.5–3.5 cm diam.) is widespread, and subsp. vaughanae J. |
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m | .; m . |
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Gillett | (petals lavender or white, flowers 1.2–1.4 cm, inflorescences 1.5–2 cm diam.) is restricted to central Mexico (Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí) (J.; gillett 1980). |
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2n | = 32, 48. |
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Trifolium macrocephalum |
Trifolium mucronatum |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | |
Habitat | Rocky places, hard, compacted clay-gumbo, lava beds, sage-covered slopes, full sun. | |
Elevation | 80–2500 m. [260–8200 ft.] | |
Distribution |
CA; ID; NV; OR; WA
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w United States; sc United States; n Mexico
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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.) |
Subspecies 3 (1 in the flora). Trifolium involucratum Ortega (1797), which pertains here, is a later homonym of T. involucratum Lamarck (1778, = T. cherleri Linnaeus). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Synonyms | Lupinaster macrocephalum | |
Name authority | (Pursh) Poiret in J. Lamarck et al.: Encycl., suppl. 5: 336. (1817) | Willdenow ex Sprengel: Syst. Veg. 3: 208. (1826) |
Web links |