Trifolium vesiculosum |
Trifolium alexandrinum |
|
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arrow-leaf clover |
Egyptian clover |
|
Habit | Herbs annual, 15–70 cm, glabrous. | Herbs annual, 20–60 cm, appressed-pubescent. |
Stems | erect or ascending, branched. |
erect, branched. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules linear-lanceolate, 1–3.5 cm, margins entire, apex subulate or setaceous; petiole 0.5–10 cm; petiolules 1 mm; leaflet 3, blades obovate to oblong, elliptic or lanceolate, 0.5–4 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base cuneate, veins prominent, thickened, margins spinulose-denticulate, apex apiculate, surfaces glabrous. |
palmate; stipules lanceolate, 1–2 cm, margins denticulate distally, plumose-ciliate, apex caudate; petiole 1–8 cm; petiolules 1+ mm; leaflets 3, blades broadly elliptic to oblong, 1–5 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base cuneate, veins fine, margins denticulate, apex usually mucronate, sometimes retuse, surfaces hairy. |
Inflorescences | terminal or axillary, 50–100+-flowered, globose, ovoid, or oblong, 3–6 × 2–3.5 cm; involucres absent. |
terminal, 25–100-flowered, ovoid, elongate in fruit, 1–2.5 × 1–1.5 cm; involucres minute or absent. |
Peduncles | 1–12 cm. |
0.5–9 cm. |
Pedicels | absent; bracteoles lanceolate, 6–7 mm, acuminate. |
absent; bracteoles absent. |
Flowers | 12–16 mm; calyx urceolate, not bilabiate, inflated in fruit, 6–10 mm, glabrous, veins 20–36, connected by transverse veins in fruit, tube 3–5 mm, lobes reflexed, subequal, subulate, as long as tube, orifice constricted; corolla white becoming pink, 12–15 mm, banner ovate, broadly clawed, striate, 12–15 × 2–4 mm, apex acute-acuminate. |
13–16 mm; calyx cylindric (campanulate in fruit), 6–8 mm, appressed-hairy, veins 10, tube 1–2 mm, lobes erect to slightly spreading, equal or abaxial 2 slightly longer, narrowly triangular, orifice open, hairy; corolla cream or yellowish white, 13–16 mm, banner narrowly spatulate, 13–16 × 3–4 mm, apex obtuse. |
Legumes | ellipsoid, 2.5–2.5 mm, shorter than calyx. |
ellipsoid, leathery distally, transversely dehiscent, 2.2–2.5 mm. |
Seeds | 2 or 3, brown, ovoid, 1–1.5 mm, roughened. |
1, yellow, ovoid, 2–2.2 mm, smooth, glossy. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Trifolium vesiculosum |
Trifolium alexandrinum |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. | Flowering Apr–May. |
Habitat | Fields, roadsides, forest openings. | Disturbed areas, fields. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | 0–50 m. (0–200 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CA; FL; GA; LA; MA; MO; MS; OK; OR; SC; TX; VA; WA; s Europe; e Europe; w Asia [Introduced in North America]
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CA; w Asia (Syria) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in e Asia (e China), n Africa, Australia] |
Discussion | Trifolium vesiculosum was first introduced into cultivation in the United States in 1963 and is grown in southern and western states (J. D. Miller and H. D. Wells 1985). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Trifolium alexandrinum (known also as berseem, from its Arabic name) has been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for millennia and appears to have been introduced into Egypt in the sixth century (P. B. Kennedy and W. W. Mackie 1925). The origin of T. alexandrinum was long shrouded in mystery, because it appeared that the progenitors of the species were possibly extinct (W. E. Knight 1985b). Examination of similar species using molecular data gave indications that T. berytheum Boissier & C. I. Blanche and T. salmoneum Mouterde might be the primary ancestors from which domestication occurred through artificial selection in Syria (A. Badr et al. 2008). (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 | ||
Name authority | Savi: Fl. Pis. 2: 165. (1798) — (as vessiculosum) | Linnaeus: Cent. Pl. I, 25. (1755) |
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