''Trifolium wormskioldii'' 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 ...

''Trifolium wormskioldii''.
The Nature Conservancy. native to the western half of North America. Its common names include cows clover, coast clover, sand clover, seaside clover, springbank clover, and Wormskjold's clover.

Description

''Trifolium wormskioldii'', a

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

, is a

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 wide ...

herb sometimes taking a matlike form, with decumbent or upright stems. The

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

are made up of leaflets measuring long. The lower

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 are tipped with bristles and the upper stipules may be toothed. The rounded inflorescences are wide. The

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 coined b ...

s are bristle-tipped. The corollas are pinkish purple or magenta with white tips.

Etymology

The species was given its scientific name in honour of the Danish botanist

Morten Wormskjold Morten Wormskjold (16 January 1783 – 29 November 1845) was a Danish botanist and explorer. He collected plants in Greenland and Kamchatka. Early life Morten Wormskjold was born in Copenhagen to a recently nobilitated family of civil servant ...

.Charters, M. L
"''wormskioldii''".
California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations.

Distribution and habitat

This plant is native to the western half of North America from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, through

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is a

herb that grows in many locales, from beaches to mountain ridges, below about in elevation.Jepson ''T. wormskioldii''
/ref> Habitats it grows in include

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

oak woodland An oak woodland is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks (''Quercus spp.''). In terms of canopy closure, oak woodlands are intermediate between oak savanna, which is more open, and oak forest, which is more closed. Although the ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

yellow pine forest Ponderosa pine forest is a plant association and plant community dominated by ponderosa pine and found in western North America. It is found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast Ranges in the Western United States and Western Canada. In ...

red fir ''Abies magnifica'', the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at elevation, though only rare ...

forest, lodgepole forest,

subalpine forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

, 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) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

−

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 ar ...

Uses

Many Native American groups of western North America use this clover for food. The herbage and flowers are eaten raw, sometimes

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

ed. The roots are commonly steamed or boiled and eaten with fish, fish eggs, and fish grease.''Trifolium wormskioldii''.
Native American Ethnobotany. University of Michigan, Dearborn. This species is host to the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

of the Western cloudywing butterfly ('' Thorybes diversus'').''Thorybes diversus''.
Butterflies and Moths of North America.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Trifolium wormskioldii'' (Coast clover, Cow clover, Springbank clover)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Trifolium wormskioldii''

USDA Plants Profile: ''Trifolium wormskioldii'' (cows clover) UC CalPhotos gallery: ''Trifolium wormskioldii''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5234176 wormskioldii Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of Alaska Flora of British Columbia Flora of California Flora of New Mexico Flora of Texas Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants used in Native American cuisine