''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 (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
in the pea and clover family
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
. This species is generally accepted as the primary plant to represent the traditional
Irish shamrock
A shamrock is a type of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of the Irish word and simply means "young clover".
At most times'', Shamrock'' refers to either the species ...
.
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 ther ...
.
It is probably an
allotetraploid with 2n=32 that arose from the crossing of ''
Trifolium campestre'' 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 (''T. campestre''),
black medick (''Medicago lupulina''), and
yellow woodsorrel (''Oxalis stricta'').
See also
*
White clover
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentWashington Burke Museum
dubium
Flora of Europe
National symbols of the Republic of Ireland
{{Trifolieae-stub