''Trifolium barbigerum'' is a species of

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

known by the common name bearded clover.Calflora: ''Trifolium barbigerum''
/ref>

Distribution

The plant is native to central coastal and

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, below in elevation. Areas it is found include on the northern

Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands () are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, ...

, the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. ...

, and around the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

. It grows in many types of habitat, including coastal prairie, mixed evergreen forest,

closed-cone pine forest Closed-cone pine forest is a plant community of coastal California and several offshore islands. The plant community is often mono-dominant and single-aged, but dense with ladder fuels. Closed Cone forests grow in low nutrient and/or stressed soils ...

, and

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

−

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

areas. It is also found in disturbed and cultivated areas.

Description

''Trifolium barbigerum'' is an annual herb growing decumbent to erect in form and hairy to hairless in texture. The leaves are divided into oval leaflets up to 2.5 centimeters long, sometimes having notches at the tips. The

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s on the leaves are large and variable in shape. The

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. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

is a head of flowers up to 2.5 centimeters wide. The flowers are held in a bowl-shaped involucre of

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or o ...

s with toothed edges. Each flower has a calyx of

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s narrowing into one or more bristles which are coated with long hairs. Within each calyx is the flower corolla which may be pinkish purple, white, or bicolored purple and white. The bloom period is April to July.

Varieties

''Trifolium barbigerum'' was formerly discussed classified with two varieties, that are not in current use: *''Trifolium barbigerum'' var. ''andrewsii'' — reclassified as ''Trifolium grayi''. *''Trifolium. barbigerum'' var. ''barbigerum'' — reclassified as a synonym of ''Trifolium barbigerum''.Calflora: ''Trifolium. barbigerum'' var. ''barbigerum''; not an active name; see ''Trifolium barbigerum''
. accessed 2.28.2016.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Trifolium barbigerum'' (Bearded clover)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Trifolium barbigerum''UC CalPhotos gallery: ''Trifolium barbigerum''
barbigerum Flora of California Flora of Oregon Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Trifolieae-stub