''Trifolium lemmonii'' 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 name Lemmon's clover.

Distribution

The plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the northern

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 ...

in eastern

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 ...

and just into

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. It is a resident of the coniferous forests and sagebrush of the High Sierra. Some populations are protected within the

Plumas National Forest Plumas National Forest is a 1,146,000-acre (464,000 ha) National forest (United States), United States national forest located in northern California at the northern terminus of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Forest was named after i ...

and Tahoe National Forest. It is

California Department of Fish and Wildlife The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages ...

and

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

listed

Vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

, and is on the

California Native Plant Society The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to c ...

Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants. California Native Plant Society, Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v8-02): ''Trifolium lemmonii''
. accessed 2.28.2016.

Description

''Trifolium lemmonii'' is a perennial herb spreading to form a mat or low clump. Each leaf is made up of 3 to 7 thick oval leaflets. The leaflets are 1 to 2 centimeters long, toothed on the edges, and coated in rough hairs. 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 spherical umbel roughly 2 centimeters wide borne on an erect, arching peduncle. The flowers spread and droop from their attachment. Each has a hairy 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, bristlelike lobes. The flower corolla is pale pink in color and just over a centimeter in length.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Trifolium lemmonii'' (Lemmon's clover)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Trifolium lemmonii''UC CalPhotos gallery: ''Trifolium lemmonii''
lemmonii Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Endemic flora of the United States ~ ~ Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Trifolieae-stub