''Trifolium dubium'', the lesser trefoil,
suckling clover, little hop clover or lesser hop trefoil, is a
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...
in the pea and clover family
. This species is generally accepted as the primary plant to represent the traditional
Irish shamrock
A shamrock is a young sprigging, sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have Saint Patrick#Patrick uses shamrock in an illustrative parable, used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity ...
.
It is native to Europe, but can be found in many parts of the world as an
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
.
It is probably an
allotetraploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...
with 2n=32 that arose from the crossing of ''
Trifolium campestre
''Trifolium campestre'', commonly known as hop trefoil, field clover and low hop clover, is a species of flowering plant native to Europe and western Asia, growing in dry, sandy grassland habitats, fields, woodland margins, roadsides, wasteland ...
'' and ''
T. micranthum''.
[Ansari, H. A., et al. (2008). Molecular and cytogenetic evidence for an allotetraploid origin of ''Trifolium dubium'' (Leguminosae). ''Chromosoma'' 117(2):159-67.]
Gallery
File:TrifoliumDubium-bloem-hr.jpg
File:Trif dubium210ss.JPG
File:Trif dubium204ss.JPG
File:Trifolium dubium001.JPG
File:Trifolium_dubium.jpg
Similar plants
Lesser hop trefoil, ''Trifolium dubium,'' may be confused with other plants that have three leaflets and small yellow flowers, such as
large hop trefoil (''T. aureum''),
hop trefoil
''Trifolium campestre'', commonly known as hop trefoil, field clover and low hop clover, is a species of flowering plant native to Europe and western Asia, growing in dry, sandy grassland habitats, fields, woodland margins, roadsides, wastelands ...
(''T. campestre''),
black medick (''Medicago lupulina''), and
yellow woodsorrel (''Oxalis stricta'').
See also
*
White clover
''Trifolium repens'', the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (otherwise known as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg., E.F. 1968. ''Excursi ...
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentWashington Burke Museum
dubium
Flora of Europe
National symbols of the Republic of Ireland
{{Trifolieae-stub