Pallescent clover
Scientific name: Trifolium pallescens Schreb.
Family name: Fabaceae
MORPHOLOGY
Growth habit and size: perennial plant with a caespitose rhizome.
Stem: creeping or ascending, approx. 8 to 20 cm long.
Leaves: trifoliate, with three obovate or elliptical segments and finely serrated margin.
Flowers: united in spherical heads. The single flowers, white or yellowish in colour, are borne on peduncles. They appear between June and August.
Fruits and seeds: small protruding legumes containing 1 or 3 seeds each, yellowish in colour.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
Plant native to southern Europe. In Italy it is only present in northern regions, from 1,400 to 2,500 metres above sea level. It is found in Alpine pastures and on screes or moraines, preferring acidified soils.
USE
No known use.
INTERESTING FACTS
The genus name refers to the leaves, which consist of three segments. The specific epithet ‘pallescens’ comes from the Latin pallesco (= pale), due to the pale colour of the flowers and fruit.
Photo: under free licence from Saxifraga – Willem van Kruijsbergen and Rutger Barendse.
