SPECIES DESCRIPTION
TRIFOLIUM PALLIDUM
Family and Genus:- See- LEGUMINOSAE/Subgen. TRIFOLIUM/Sect.
Common Names:-
Homotypic Synonyms:- Trifolium pratense subsp. pallidum.
Meaning:- Trifolium (L) With three leaflets.
Pallidum (L) Greenish, somewhat pale.
General description:- Slender annual.
Stems:-
1) 15-40(-60) cm. ascending, freely branched, appressed-pubescent above.
Leaves:-
1) Leaflets, 15-25 mm, obovate-cuneate to elliptical, those of uppermost leaves
narrower, finely and sharply denticulate, lateral veins, rather prominent.
2) Stipules, ovate, the free part abruptly contracted into a filiform, ciliate arista.
Flowers:-
1) Heads, 15-25 mm, globose to ovoid, involucrate, sessile.
2) Calyx-tube, 10-veined, veins evident.
a) teeth, setaceous, triangular and 3-5-veined at the base, 1½ times as long as
the tube.
b) mouth, closed by a bilabiate callosity.
3) Corolla, c.13 mm, 1½-3 times as long as the calyx, cream to pale pink.
a) standard, acute to obtuse, 1-1.5 mm longer than the wings and 2-3 mm longer
than the keel.
Key features:-
1) Calyx-teeth, subulate, setaceous or filiform, ± straight and erect in fruit, 1-1½
times as long as the tube.
2) Corolla, whitish or pink, much exceeding the calyx.
Habitat:- Seasonally wet habitats in meadows, olive groves, by streams, on road
embankments, etc., 0-800 m
Distribution:- Throughout mainland Greece (especially in the west), lonian lslands.
- ltaly, Balkan Peninsula, W Anatolia, N Africa.
Flowering time:- May to early July.
Photos by:- A.N. Other
