Trifolium variegatum |
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variegated clover, white-tip clover |
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Habit | Herbs annual, 1.5–48+ cm, glabrous. |
Stems | usually erect, ascending, or prostrate, branched. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules lanceolate or ovate, 0.3–1 cm, margins lacerate, apex acute to acuminate; petiole 1–9 cm; petiolules to 0.8 mm; leaflets 3, blades elliptic, obovate, oblanceolate, or obcordate, 0.2–5 × 0.1–1.2 cm, base cuneate, veins thickened, margins denticulate, apex acute or retuse, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | terminal or axillary, 1–20+-flowered, subglobose or globose, 0.5–1.3 × 0.1–1 cm; involucres flat, 2–6 mm, incised 1/2 their length, lobes 2–7, lacerate. |
Peduncles | 0.5–5 cm. |
Pedicels | straight, to 0.5 mm; bracteoles absent. |
Flowers | 5–11 mm; calyx campanulate, not slit between adaxial lobes, 1.9–2.4 mm, glabrous, veins 10–20, tube 1.5–4 mm, lobes subequal, narrowly triangular, margins usually entire, rarely with a small lateral tooth, orifice open; corolla purple, usually white-tipped, 3–10 mm, banner obovate, 3–10 × 0.6–2.6 mm, apex emarginate. |
Legumes | oblong or ellipsoid, 2–4 mm. |
Seeds | 2, blackish brown, sometimes mottled, ovoid or ellipsoid, 1–1.6 mm, smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
Trifolium variegatum |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Sep. |
Habitat | Wet places, coastal hills, meadows. |
Elevation | 0–2500 m. (0–8200 ft.) |
Distribution |
AK; AZ; CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC; Mexico (Baja California)
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Discussion | Trifolium variegatum is widespread and morphologically variable (B. G. Foster and M. A. Vincent 2018). Because of this variability, T. variegatum and related species were treated as seven so-called phases by D. Isely (1998), who described these as ecotypic groups, some of which might deserve varietal or specific rank. C. S. Cooper (1957) considered T. variegatum a good choice for cultivation in wet areas for grazing and hay production. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | T. dianthum, T. geminiflorum, T. melananthum, T. pusillum, T. spinulosum var. triste, T. subsalinum, T. tridentatum var. melananthum, T. ultramontanum, T. variegatum var. geminiflorum, T. variegatum var. melananthum |
Name authority | Nuttall in J. Torrey and A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 317. (1838) |
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