Field Clover
Trifolium campestre Schreber
Field Clover: https://marylandbiodiversity.org/species/3856
Synonyms
Hop Trefoil  Low Hop-Clover  Trifolium procumbens 
Tags
Non-native

Map Snapshot

299 Records

GAALWAFRCLMOHOBABCHACEPGAACVCHSMKEQACNTADOWISOWO

Status

Field Clover is an introduced plant from Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. In North America, it has become established across most of the eastern United States east of the Mississippi and along the west coast. It has been recorded in every state. In Maryland, Field Clover is a common plant across the state. It blooms during May and June. According to the Smithsonian's Flora of the Washington-Baltimore Area special collection, the earliest collected specimen in the Maryland area is from along the Potomac River in present-day Georgetown. The collection was made by John Chickering in 1874.

Description

Similar to Black Medick, but leaflets do not have mucronate points. Upper flower petals are grooved while Black Medick upper flower petals are smooth. Golden Clover has a larger flowering head and all three leaflets are sessile, unlike Field Clover, which has a central leaflet with a petiole over 1 mm (typically 3 mm). Suckling Clover has a very small flowering head with fewer than 15 flowers and the center leaflet has a very short petiole (less than 1mm).

Where To Find

The species name "campestre" means of the fields and this is the place to look for Field Clover. Roadsides, open spaces without tall vegetation and lots of sun, yards, parking lot edges, and fallow fields are all good places to look for Field Clover.

Resources

View at iNaturalist Search Google Images Search MBP Facebook posts
View at Maryland Plant Atlas Search Flora of North America Search Mid-Atlantic Herbaria Consortium Search Norton-Brown Herbarium Search MNPS Facebook posts

Citations

No citations linked for this taxon yet.

Use of media featured on Maryland Biodiversity Project is only permitted with express permission of the photographer.

Source: Wikipedia

Hop Trefoil
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Trifolium
Species:
T. campestre
Binomial name
Trifolium campestre

Trifolium campestre, commonly known as hop trefoil,[1] field clover[2] and low hop clover, is a species of flowering plant native to Europe and western Asia.

Description

[edit]
Leaves and flower

It is a herbaceous annual plant, growing to 10–30 centimetres (4–12 in) tall. The leaves are alternate and trifoliate, with three oblong or elliptical leaflets 4–10 millimetres (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) long.

The distinctive yellow flowerheads that superficially resemble hop flowers. Each flowerhead is a cylindrical or spherical collection of 20–40 individual flowers. The flowers become brown upon aging and drying, enclosing the fruit, a one-seeded pod.

Similar plants

[edit]

The species may be confused with others that have three leaflets and small yellow flowers, such as T. aureum (large hop trefoil), T. dubium (lesser hop trefoil), Medicago lupulina (black medick), and Oxalis stricta (yellow woodsorrel).

Etymology

[edit]

The species name campestre means "of the fields".

Distribution and habitat

[edit]
Newfoundland

It is native to Europe and western Asia, growing in dry, sandy grassland habitats, fields, woodland margins, roadsides, wastelands and cultivated land.[citation needed]

It has become naturalised in North America, particularly in the west and south of the continent.

Uses

[edit]

Hop trefoil is an important clover in agriculture because its foliage is good for feeding livestock and replenishing soil. It is not generally planted, but is considered a valuable herb when found growing in a pasture.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. ^ NRCS. "Trifolium campestre". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 15 December 2015.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Ajilvsgi, Geyata. (2003). Wildflowers of Texas. Shearer Publishing, Fredericksburg, Texas. ISBN 0-940672-73-1.
[edit]


Stub icon

This Trifolieae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.