Trifolium

Subterranean clover Trifolium subterraneum, copyright Harry Rose.

Belongs within: Fabeae.
Contains: Trifolium section Eulagopus, Trifolium section Euamoria, Trifolium section Galearia.

Trifolium, clovers, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbaceous plants with commonly trifoliolate leaves.

Characters (from Hickman 1993): Annual or perennial, unarmed. Leaves generally palmately compound; stipules conspicuous, partly fused to petiole; leaflets generally 3, sometimes 5-9, more or less serrate or dentate. Inflorescence a raceme (often umbel-like), head, or spike, axillary or terminal, gen many-flowered, often involucred, generally peduncled; flowers bracted or not. Flowers 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.

<==Trifolium [Trifoliae]
    |--T. subg. Lagopus BF49
    |    |--T. (sect. Calycomorphum) subterraneum Linnaeus 1753 BF49
    |    |    |--T. s. f. subterraneum BF49
    |    |    |--T. s. f. brachycladum BF49
    |    |    |--T. s. f. genuinum BF49
    |    |    `--T. s. f. oxaloides BF49
    |    `--T. sect. Eulagopus BF49
    `--T. subg. Trifoliastrum BF49
         |--T. sect. Chronosemium BF49
         |    |--T. filiforme Linnaeus 1753 BF49
         |    |--T. minus [=T. filiforme var. minus (Relhan) Cout. 1939] BF49
         |    `--T. procumbens Linnaeus 1755 BF49
         |         |--T. p. f. procumbens BF49
         |         |--T. p. f. majus (Koch) de Basto Folque 1949 BF49
         |         |--T. p. f. minus (Koch) de Basto Folque 1949 BF49
         |         `--T. p. f. nanum (Seringe) de Basto Folque 1949 BF49
         |--T. sect. Euamoria BF49
         |--T. sect. Galearia BF49
         |--T. (sect. Involucraria) laevigatum BF49
         |    |--T. l. f. laevigatum BF49
         |    `--T. l. f. minus (Rouy) de Basto Folque 1949 BF49
         `--T. (sect. Mistylus) spumosum BF49
              |--T. s. f. spumosum BF49
              `--T. s. f. minus de Basto Folque 1949 BF49

Trifolium incertae sedis:
  T. agrarium C55b
  T. albopurpureum H93
    |--T. a. var. albopurpureum H93
    |--T. a. var. dichotomum H93
    `--T. a. var. olivaceum H93
  T. alexandrinum BF49
  T. amoenum H93
  T. andersonii H93
    |--T. a. var. andersonii H93
    `--T. a. var. beatleyae [incl. T. monoense] H93
  T. aureum H93
  T. barbigerum H93
    |--T. b. var. barbigerum H93
    `--T. b. var. andrewsii [incl. T. grayi] H93
  T. beckwithii H93
  T. bifidum H93
    |--T. b. var. bifidum H93
    `--T. b. var. decipiens H93
  T. bolanderi H93
  T. bonannii BF49
    |--T. b. var. bonannii BF49
    `--T. b. var. aragonense BF49
  T. breweri H93
  T. buckwestiorum H93
  T. campestre von Schreber 1804 PL04
  T. ciliolatum H93
  T. cyathiferum H93
  T. depauperatum H93
    |--T. d. var. depauperatum H93
    |--T. d. var. amplectens H93
    |--T. d. var. hydrophilum [=T. amplectens var. hydrophilum] H93
    `--T. d. var. truncatum [=T. amplectens var. truncatum] H93
  T. dubium LNB03
  T. elegans C55b
  T. eriocephalum H93
  T. fucatum [incl. T. fucatum var. gambelii, T. fucatum var. virescens] H93
  T. glanduliferum WR-SG01
  T. gracilentum H93
    |--T. g. var. gracilentum [incl. T. gracilentum var. inconspicuum] H93
    `--T. g. var. palmeri H93
  T. grandiflorum PT98
  T. gymnocarpon H93
    |--T. g. var. gymnocarpon H93
    `--T. g. var. plummerae H93
  T. howellii H93
  T. hybridum LNB03
  T. kingii H93
    |--T. k. var. kingii H93
    `--T. k. var. productum H93
  T. lemmonii H93
  T. longipes H93 [=T. subterraneum f. longipes]
    |--T. l. var. longipes H93
    |--T. l. var. atrorubens H93
    |--T. l. var. elmeri H93
    |--T. l. var. nevadense H93
    |--T. l. var. oreganum H93
    `--T. l. var. shastense [incl. T. longipes var. multipedunculatum] H93
  T. macilentum H93
    |--T. m. var. macilentum H93
    `--T. m. var. dedeckerae H93
  T. macraei H93
  T. microdon [incl. T. microdon var. pilosum] H93
  T. monanthum H93
    |--T. m. var. monanthum [incl. T. monanthum var. eastwoodianum, T. monanthum var. parvum] H93
    `--T. m. var. grantianum H93
  T. obtusiflorum H93
  T. oliganthum H93
  T. parryi GS99
  T. purpureum PT98
  T. reflexum KIW98
  T. saxatile C55a
  T. trichocalyx H93
  T. variegatum (see below for synonymy) H93
  T. wildenovii [incl. T. tridentatum var. aciculare, T. tridentatum] H93
  T. wormskioldii H93

Trifolium variegatum [incl. T. appendiculatum, T. geminiflorum, T. variegatum var. melananthum, T. polyodon, T. appendiculatum var. rostratum, T. variegatum var. trilobatum] H93

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BF49 Basto Folque, N. A. P. de. 1949. Subsídios para o estudo do género Trifolium L. em Portugal. Melhoramento 1 (2): 11–120, pls 1–23.

[C55a] Candolle, A. de. 1855a. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 1. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.

[C55b] Candolle, A. de. 1855b. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 2. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.

[GS99] Galen, C., & M. L. Stanton. 1999. Seedling establishment in alpine buttercups under experimental manipulations of growing-season length. Ecology 80: 2033–2044.

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

[KIW98] Kearns, C. A., D. W. Inouye & N. M. Waser. 1998. Endangered mutualisms: the conservation of plant-pollinator interactions. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 29: 83–112.

[LNB03] Ledeganck, P., I. Nijs & L. Beyens. 2003. Plant functional group diversity promotes soil protist diversity. Protist 154 (2): 239–249.

[PT98] Panitsa, M., & D. Tzanoudakis. 1998. Contribution to the study of the Greek flora: flora and vegetation of the E Aegean islands Agathonisi and Pharmakonisi. Willdenowia 28: 95–116.

[PL04] Pohl, G., & I. Lenski. 2004. Zur Verbreitung und Vergesellschaftung von Pennisetum orientale Rich. in Nordeuböa (Griechenland) (Poaceae, Paniceae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 83 (2): 209–223.

[WR-SG01] Wang, S. F., T. J. Ridsdill-Smith & E. L. Ghisalberti. 2001. Resistance in pasture legumes to redlegged earth mite Halotydeus destructor (Tucker) (Acari: Penthaleidae). In: Halliday, R. B., D. E. Walter, H. C. Proctor, R. A. Norton & M. J. Colloff (eds) Acarology: Proceedings of the 10^th International Congress pp. 328–341. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.