TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

FABACEAE

LEGUME FAMILY

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. [Polhill & Raven (eds) 1981 Advances in legume systematics; Allen & Allen 1981 Leguminosae] Family description and key to genera by Duane Isely.

TRIFOLIUM

CLOVER

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

T. depauperatum Desv.

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.

Native

var. depauperatum

Leaf: leaflets sometimes notched at tip or lobed
Inflorescence: involucre vestigial, ring-like
Flower: calyx 2.5–3.5 mm; corolla generally 6–9 mm
Fruit > style, ovoid or oblong; stalk-like base 0.5–1.5 mm
Seeds 2–4
Ecology: Wet meadows, ditches, grasslands, roadsides, open spring-moist, heavy soils
Elevation: < 900 m.
Bioregional distribution: North Coast Ranges, Cascade Range Foothills, n&c Sierra Nevada, Great Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia