Herbs annual, 10–30 cm, gla­brous. Stems procumbent, decum­bent, or ascending, branched. Leaves palmate; stip­ules ovate, 1–1.5 cm, margins entire, apex subulate-setaceous; petiole 0–7 cm; petiolules to 0.5 mm; leaflets 3, blades obovate or obcordate, 0.6–1.5 × 0.4–1 cm, base cuneate, veins thickened distally, margins spinulose-serrate, apex retuse or rounded, surfaces gla­brous. Peduncles absent or to 0.1 cm. Inflorescences axillary, 30+-flowered, globose, 0.8–1 × 0.8–1 cm; invo­lucres absent. Pedicels straight, to 0.2 mm; bracteoles linear, to 0.5 mm. Flowers 6–8.5 mm; calyx tubular-obconic, 3–4 mm, glabrous, veins 10–12, tube 1.5–2 mm, lobes equal, triangular-ovate, spreading to recurved in fruit, orifice open; corolla pink, 6–8 mm, banner obovate, 6–8 × 1–2 mm, apex acute. Legumes obovoid, 2–3 mm. Seeds 2, brown, reniform, 1 mm, tuberculate. 2n = 14, 16.

Phenology: Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat: Roadsides, lawns, thin grass­lands.
Elevation: 0–500 m.

Distribution

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Introduced; B.C., Ala., Calif., Oreg., S.C., Tex., Europe, n Africa, introduced also in s South America, s Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia.

Discussion

Trifolium glomeratum is cultivated occasionally as a forage crop (F. J. Hermann 1953) and sometimes spreads.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.