| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Annual to tree
Leaves generally compound, alternate, stipuled; leaflets generally entire
Inflorescence: generally raceme, spike, umbel or head; flowers sometime 1–2 in axils
Flowers generally bisexual, generally bilateral; hypanthium generally flat or cup-like; sepals generally 5, fused; petals generally 5, free, or the 2 lower ± fused; stamens 1–many, often 10 with 9 filaments at least partly fused, 1 (uppermost) free; pistil 1, ovary superior, generally 1-chambered, ovules 1–many, style, stigma 1
Fruit: legume, sometimes including a stalk-like base above receptacle, dehiscent, or indehiscent and breaking into 1-seeded segments, or indehiscent, 1-seeded, and achene-like
Seeds 1–several, often ± reniform, generally hard, smooth
Genera in family: ± 650 genera, 18,000 species: worldwide; with grasses, requisite in agriculture and most natural ecosystems. Many cultivated, most importantly Arachis , peanut; Glycine , soybean; Phaseolus , beans; Medicago ; Trifolium ; and many orns
Reference: [Polhill & Raven (eds) 1981 Advances in legume systematics; Allen & Allen 1981 Leguminosae]
Family description and key to genera by Duane Isely.
Annual or perennial herb, unarmed
Leaves generally palmately compound; stipules conspicuous, partly fused to petiole; leaflets generally 3, sometimes 5–9, ± serrate or dentate
Inflorescence: raceme (often umbel-like), head, or spike, axillary or terminal, generally many-flowered, often involucred, generally peduncled; flowers bracted or not
Flower generally spreading to erect, often becoming reflexed; corolla generally purple to pale lavender, sometimes yellow, persistent after flower; 9 filaments fused, 1 free
Fruit generally indehiscent, but often breaking, short, plump, generally included in corolla; base often stalk-like
Seeds 1–6
Etymology: (Latin: 3 leaves)
Reference: [Gillett 1980 Can J Bot 58:1425–1558; Zohary & Heller 1984 Genus Trifolium]
| Native |
Annual, often very small, glabrous
Stem decumbent to erect
Leaves cauline; lower stipules oblong; upper stipules bristle-tipped; leaflets 0.5–2 cm, narrowly oblong to obovate, entire or toothed, sometimes lobed, tip often truncate
Inflorescence head-like, 0.5–1.5 cm wide, 3–many-flowered; involucre present or vestigial
Flower: calyx 2.5–5 mm, glabrous; corolla 4–9 mm, pink-purple, white-tipped, banner inflated in fruit
Fruit: stalk-like base short to 0; style generally persistent
Seeds 1–5
Chromosomes: 2n=16
Ecology: Common. Salt marshes, grasslands, coastal woodlands, openings, wet meadows, ditches, roadsides, other disturbed places, open alkaline or spring-moist, heavy soils
Elevation: < 900 m.
Bioregional distribution: North Coast Ranges, Cascade Range Foothills, Sierra Nevada Foothills, n&c High Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountain Area, Great Central Valley, Central Western California, South Coast, Channel Islands, Peninsular Ranges
Distribution outside California: w N.America, S.America
Varieties depauperatum, truncatum predominant.