Trifolium hirtum
Encyclopedia
Trifolium hirtum is a species of clover
known by the common name rose clover. It is native to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. It is present elsewhere as an introduced species
and it is cultivated as a cover crop
and animal fodder
. It was introduced to California
from Turkey
in the 1940s as a forage
crop, and today it is a widespread roadside weed there.
It is a hairy annual herb growing erect in form. The leaves have oval leaflets up to 2.5 centimeters long and bristle-tipped stipule
s. The inflorescence
is a head of flowers about 1.5 centimeters wide. Each flower has a calyx of sepal
s with long, needlelike lobes that may harden into bristles with age. The calyces are coated in long hairs. The flower has a pink corolla 1 or 1.5 centimeters long.
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 name rose clover. It is native to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. It is present elsewhere as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
and it is cultivated as a cover crop
Cover crop
Cover crops are crops planted primarily to manage soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in agroecosystems , ecological systems managed and largely shaped by humans across a range of intensities to produce food, feed, or fiber.Cover crops are of...
and animal fodder
Fodder
Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
. It was introduced to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in the 1940s as a forage
Forage
Forage is plant material eaten by grazing livestock.Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially...
crop, and today it is a widespread roadside weed there.
It is a hairy annual herb growing erect in form. The leaves have oval leaflets up to 2.5 centimeters long and bristle-tipped stipule
Stipule
In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
s. 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 a head of flowers about 1.5 centimeters wide. Each flower has a calyx of sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s with long, needlelike lobes that may harden into bristles with age. The calyces are coated in long hairs. The flower has a pink corolla 1 or 1.5 centimeters long.