Page author: David Giblin
Trifolium microdon
thimble clover, Valparaiso clover
Specimens
Photos

Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; British Columbia to California; also in South America.

Habitat: In meadows or on rocky or sandy soil at low elevations.

Flowers: April-June

Origin: Native

Growth Duration: Annual

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Bumblebees, bees, butterflies, flies

Description:
General:

Pubescent annual, the stems 1-5 dm. long, decumbent to erect.

Leaves:

Leaves trifoliate, leaflets narrowly to broadly obcordate, 5-15 mm. long; stipules ovate, half as long as the leaflets.

Flowers:

Inflorescence of many-flowered, involucrate heads, 5-8 mm. long and about as wide to twice as wide as long, on axillary peduncles shorter than the leaves; involucres villous, cup-shaped, with 10-12 lacerate-toothed lobes; flowers 4-6 mm. long, white to pale red, aging to dark pinkish-brown; calyx glabrous, the 5 teeth triangular, much shorter than the tube; corolla pea-like, much longer than the calyx.

Fruits:

Pod 1-seeded, often rupturing the calyx.

Accepted Name:
Trifolium microdon Hook. & Arn.
Publication: Bot. Misc. 3: 180. 1833.

Synonyms & Misapplications:
Trifolium microdon Hook. & Arn. var. pilosum Eastw.
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Trifolium microdon in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database

WA Flora Checklist: Trifolium microdon checklist entry

OregonFlora: Trifolium microdon information

E-Flora BC: Trifolium microdon atlas page

CalPhotos: Trifolium microdon photos

14 photographs:
Group by