Herbs annual, 15–70 cm, gla­brous. Stems erect or ascending, branched. Leaves palmate; stip­ules linear-lanceolate, 1–3.5 cm, margins entire, apex subulate or setaceous; petiole 0.5–10 cm; petiolules 1 mm; leaflet 3, blades obovate to oblong, elliptic or lanceolate, 0.5–4 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base cuneate, veins prominent, thickened, margins spinulose-denticulate, apex apiculate, surfaces glabrous. Peduncles 1–12 cm. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, 50–100+-flowered, globose, ovoid, or oblong, 3–6 × 2–3.5 cm; involucres absent. Pedicels absent; bracteoles lanceolate, 6–7 mm, acuminate. Flowers 12–16 mm; calyx urceolate, not bilabiate, inflated in fruit, 6–10 mm, glabrous, veins 20–36, connected by transverse veins in fruit, tube 3–5 mm, lobes reflexed, subequal, subulate, as long as tube, orifice constricted; corolla white becoming pink, 12–15 mm, banner ovate, broadly clawed, striate, 12–15 × 2–4 mm, apex acute-acuminate. Legumes ellipsoid, 2.5–2.5 mm, shorter than calyx. Seeds 2 or 3, brown, ovoid, 1–1.5 mm, roughened. 2n = 16.

Phenology: Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, forest openings.
Elevation: 0–1000 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Introduced; Ala., Ark., Calif., Fla., Ga., La., Mass., Miss., Mo., Okla., Oreg., S.C., Tex., Va., Wash., s, e Europe, w Asia.

Discussion

Trifolium vesiculosum was first introduced into cultivation in the United States in 1963 and is grown in southern and western states (J. D. Miller and H. D. Wells 1985).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.