Trifolium gracilentum
Encyclopedia
Trifolium gracilentum is a species of clover
known by the common names pinpoint clover. It is native to western North America including the west coast of the United States and northwestern Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. It is an annual herb growing prostrate to erect in form with mostly hairless or slightly hairy herbage. The leaves are made up of lance-shaped to oval leaflets. The inflorescence
is an umbel
of flowers that spread out or flex downward. The flowers have pink or purple corollas less than a centimeter long.
One variety of this species, var. palmeri, is a rare plant limited to the Channel Islands of California
; it is sometimes treated as a species in its own right, Trifolium palmeri.
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
known by the common names pinpoint clover. It is native to western North America including the west coast of the United States and northwestern Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. It is an annual herb growing prostrate to erect in form with mostly hairless or slightly hairy herbage. The leaves are made up of lance-shaped to oval leaflets. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is an umbel
Umbel
An umbel is an inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs....
of flowers that spread out or flex downward. The flowers have pink or purple corollas less than a centimeter long.
One variety of this species, var. palmeri, is a rare plant limited to the Channel Islands of California
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
; it is sometimes treated as a species in its own right, Trifolium palmeri.
Subspecies
Trifolium gracilentum is often discussed as comprising two varieties. These are:- T. gracilentum var. gracilentum
- T. gracilentum var. palmeri