Trifolium depauperatum explained

Trifolium depauperatum is a species of clover known by the common names cowbag clover, poverty clover, and balloon sack clover.

Distribution

The plant is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, as well as to western South America in Peru and Chile. It is a common plant of many types of habitat, including coastal prairie and mixed evergreen forest.^[1]

Description

Trifolium depauperatum is a small annual herb growing upright or decumbent in form. The leaves are made up of oval leaflets up to 2 centimeters long which are smooth, toothed, lobed, or blunt-tipped. The inflorescence is a head of flowers up to 1.5 centimeters long. The flower has a pinkish purple white-tipped corolla up to a centimeter long. It becomes inflated as the fruit developed.

Subspecies

Trifolium depauperatum has several varieties, which can include:

• Trifolium depauperatum var. amplectens — Balloon sack clover, Pale bladder clover.^[2]
• Trifolium depauperatum var. depauperatum — Cowbag clover.^[3]
• Trifolium depauperatum var. hydrophilum
• Trifolium depauperatum var. truncatum — Dwarf sack clover.^[4]

External links

• Calflora Database: Trifolium depauperatum (Cowbag clover, Dwarf sack clover, Pale sack clover)
• Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Trifolium depauperatum
  • UC CalPhotos gallery: Trifolium depauperatum

Notes and References

1. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=8067 Calflora: Trifolium depauperatum
2. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Trifolium+depauperatum+var.+amplectens Calflora: Trifolium depauperatum var. amplectens
3. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Trifolium+depauperatum+var.+depauperatum Calflora: Trifolium depauperatum var. depauperatum
4. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Trifolium+depauperatum+var.+truncatum Calflora: Trifolium depauperatum var. truncatum