''Trifolium monanthum'' 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 ...

known by the common name mountain carpet clover. It is native to eastern

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 ...

and western

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in 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 primarily ...

, and in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

in the eastern

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa B ...

, and the San Jacinto Mountains. It occurs at

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

s above in coniferous forests, woodlands, and meadows.

Description

''Trifolium monanthum'' is a small perennial herb forming small clumps of hairless or slightly hairy herbage. The leaves are made up of oval leaflets up to 1.2 centimeters in length. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is reduced with only a few flowers, or a single flower. The flower corolla measures up to 1.2 centimeters long and is white, sometimes with lavender speckles. The bloom period is April to June.

References

External links

Calflora: ''Trifolium monanthum'' (Carpet clover, Mountain carpet clover)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Trifolium monanthum''UC CalPhotos gallery: ''Trifolium monanthum''
monanthum Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Trifolieae-stub