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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Long-stalk Clover
Trifolium longipes Nutt.

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Pea (Leguminosoe)
Flowering: June-September
Field Marks: This clover has ovoid heads of white (less commonly pinkish) flowers and leaves on stalks longer than the leaflets.
Habitat: Wet meadows in the mountains.
Habit: Perennial herb with branched rhizomes and a taproot.
Stems: Spreading to erect, up to 21 inches long, smooth or with some appressed hairs.
Leaves: Alternate, divided into 3 leaflets; each leaflet narrow, lanceolate to obovate, pointed or rounded at the tip, tapering to the base, up to 2 inches long, finely toothed, hairy on lower surface; leaf stalks longer than the leaflets; stipu
Flowers: Many crowded into ovoid heads up to 2/3 inch across, on long stalks up to 6 inches long.
Sepals: 5, united below into a tube, 1/3 to nearly 1/2 inch long, the slender teeth longer than the tube, hairy.
Petals: 5, white (less commonly pinkish), arranged to form a sweet pea-shaped flower 1/3-1/2 inch long.
Stamens: 10.
Pistils: Ovary superior, hairy.
Fruits: Pods a little longer than broad, hairy near the tip, containing 2-4 seeds.
Notes: The petals of this species sometimes also may be tinged with purple. The fruits and leaves are eaten by some mammals.

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Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:26:44 EST
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