Trifolium ornithopodioides |
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bird clover |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 5–50 cm, glabrous or glabrescent. |
Stems | procumbent, ascending, or erect, branched. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules obovate-lanceolate, 0.5–0.8 cm, margins entire, apex subulate or cuspidate; petiole 4–10 cm; petiolules 0.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades obcordate or obovate, 0.6–1 × 0.4–0.6 cm, base cuneate, veins fine, margins finely serrate, apex truncate or emarginate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | axillary, 1–5-flowered, loose, oblong, 0.5–1.2 × 0.1–0.5 cm; involucres absent or bracteoles shallow, cuplike, ± equaling pedicels. |
Peduncles | 0.5–2 cm. |
Pedicels | straight or slightly reflexed, 1–3 mm; bracteoles lanceolate, 1 mm. |
Flowers | 5–10 mm; calyx campanulate, 4–4.5 mm, glabrous, veins 10, tube 2.5–3 mm, lobes unequal, triangular, orifice open; corolla pink or white, 5–9 mm, banner oblong, 5–9 × 2–3 mm, apex rounded. |
Legumes | stipitate, ellipsoid-oblong, 6–10 mm. |
Seeds | 4–9, black or dark brown, ellipsoid-globose, 1–1.5 mm, smooth, glossy. |
2n | = 16. |
Trifolium ornithopodioides |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Jun. |
Habitat | Coastal slopes, roadsides. |
Elevation | 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) |
Distribution |
NB; Europe; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia] |
Discussion | Trifolium ornithopodioides comprises small plants and has been considered a member of Trigonella by some authors; molecular studies by N. W. Ellison et al. (2006) showed that it is nested within Trifolium. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Melilotus ornithopodioides, Trigonella ornithopodioides |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 766. (1753) — (as M. ornithopodioides) |
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