''Trifolium andersonii'' is a species of

clover Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversit ...

known by the common names fiveleaf clover and Anderson's clover. It is native to the western

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, particularly the

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

and adjacent high mountain ranges, including the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

. It was named after Charles Lewis Anderson by

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessaril ...

Distribution

It grows in forests, mountain meadows, and talus. It has been noted to be the dominant species in dry areas on the alpine grassland steppe in the White Mountains of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

.Research Natural Areas: White Mountain Summit
/ref>

Description

''Trifolium andersonii'' is a perennial herb growing in a tuft or low cushion, and lacking a stem. The long-haired or woolly, silvery-gray leaves have 3 to 7 leaflets each up to 2 centimeters long. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a head of flowers measuring 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters wide. Each flower has a calyx of

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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s with narrow, densely hairy lobes. Within the calyx is the flower corolla, which is pinkish purple or bicolored. Various subtaxa are usually recognized by authors as varieties or subspecies.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - Trifolium andersoniiPhoto gallery: Trifolium andersonii ssp. ''andersonii''Photo gallery: Trifolium andersonii ssp. ''beatleyae''
andersonii Flora of California Flora of Idaho Flora of Nevada Flora of Oregon Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) ~ Flora without expected TNC conservation status Taxa named by Asa Gray Plants described in 1865 {{Trifolieae-stub