''Trifolium breweri'', which has the common names forest clover and Brewer's clover, is a perennial

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 ...

that is native to mixed

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

forests and coastal coniferous forests in Southern

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It belongs to the family Fabaceae, known for containing

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

s and other legumes. Its genus, ''

Trifolium 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 ...

'', which translates to “three leaf”, has a cosmopolitan distribution; the densest of which is found in the Northern Hemisphere.

Description

''Trifolium breweri'' is a mat forming

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herb that grows upright or

decumbent This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

in form, with dense, hairy herbage. The leaves are

cauline A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

, each with three

obovate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

leaflets that are generally 5–20 mm, and can be either entire or

serrate Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied p ...

. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

-like with 5-15 flowers, and is often turned to the side. The flowers are small, bilaterally symmetrical, and range from yellowish white to pink-lavender. Flowers consist of a five lobed, hairy calyx, petals are separate, and the corolla is

papilionaceous Papilionaceous flowers (from Latin: ''papilion'', a butterfly) are flowers with the characteristic irregular and butterfly-like corolla found in many, though not all, plants of the species-rich Faboideae subfamily of legumes. Tournefort suggest ...

. The banner petal is

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

, wing petals are narrow and

oblanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

to oblong, wing tips and keel tips are obtuse or rounded. They have diadelphous stamens, nine of which are united and one free. After pollination a fruit containing one seed is exserted from corolla.

Habitat

''Trifolium breweri'' is a highly adaptive plant that thrives in mixed evergreen forests and coastal coniferous. It can also survive in open areas and even roadsides at elevations between 200m-1800m.USDA Plants Database
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Distribution

''Trifolium breweri'' is found in most of

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region ...

, southern Oregon and California. It grows in the Klamath Range,

Cascades Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

and Sierra Nevada.

Conservation

This plant is considered to be secure within its range.

Recent Research

There was a study done about New World clovers found in mountainous regions done in 2013. ''Trifolium breweri'' is mentioned briefly as being basal within the ''Involucrarium'' clade with some of the South American species that were studied. Another study done on the molecular

phylogenetics In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...

of the clover genus mentions ''Trifolium breweri''. 218 species of ''Trifolium'' were collected and sequenced in California. The results of the study were consistent with a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

origin of the genus, probably in the

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

. They believe that all of the New World species had a single origin, while the species of sub-Saharan Africa originated from three separate dispersal events.Ellison, N. W., Liston, A., Steiner, J. J., Williams, W. M., & Taylor, N. L. (2006). Molecular phylogenetics of the clover genus (Trifolium—Leguminosae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 39(3), 688-705.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Trifolium breweri''''Trifolium breweri'' - Photo galleryA Morphological Analysis of the Trifolium Amiable Kunth Species Complex in South America
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Trifolium breweri S. Watson: FOREST CLOVER
Discoverlife.org {{Taxonbar, from=Q5232340 breweri Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora without expected TNC conservation status