Pea Family [Fabaceae] |
status
flower
flower
morph
petals
type
type
stem
rarity
1st June 2008, Arreton Cross, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
It is the flowerheads which are sometimes clustered together (in pairs or 3's) in Clustered Clover. [But Twin-headed Clover(Trifolium bocconei) can also have two flowerheads in close proximity]. |
1st June 2008, Arreton Cross, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The plant is procumbent to upright and up to 25cm long. |
1st June 2008, Arreton Cross, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The flowers are pink-purple to white and 4 to 5mm in an approximately globular cluster. There are between 3 and 10 globular clusters (or more) on a single plant (somewhere...). |
1st June 2008, Arreton Cross, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The striking feature to your Author are the green sepal teeth which are splayed out and prominently visible within the flowerhead, unlike most other Clovers (strange that the books don't mention this). |
1st June 2008, Arreton Cross, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The globular clusters are in either terminal positions on the flower stalks, or axillary positions. Presumably the occurrence of flowerheads very closely positioned to another is the reason this plant got its name (a diagnostic feature). |
1st June 2008, Arreton Cross, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Another ancillary flowerhead in close proximity to one on a main flowerstalk, this one still developing. |
1st June 2008, Arreton Cross, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Leaflets here have a red edge - but your Author does not know if this is indicative or diagnostic (no one mentions it, but half the images on the internet have them - maybe its also weather related?). |
22nd May 2011, Redcliff, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
There may be a paler marking in the central area of the leaflets. |
22nd May 2011, Redcliff, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
When ripe, the fruits will be found enclosed within the calyx (sepal cups). |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Some leaves have a small pale grey-green spot on them. |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The stems have two or three flowerheads each. A fresh flower at the summit with two spent, going to seed flowerheads further down. |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
This specimen has about 11 flowers. |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers have a pale pinkish-white hue. |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The 5 sepal teeth are much longer than wide and splayed outwards. The leaf teeth are forwardly-directed and taper to a point, as does the terminal tooth (with an acuminate point). The banners are obovate in shape (long and narrow, tapering into the sepal tube (rear flower; all the other flowers are still closed and this seems to be quite normal - only a few ever open). |
18th June 2019, grassy verge, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The sepal tube has striking red candy-stripes (at least on this specimen). |
Not to be semantically confused with :
Some similarities to : Suffocated Clover (Trifolium suffocatum) in that they both have stipules which are usually entire and that neither the teeth nor the leaflets have glands. But Clustered Clover has a larger corolla (4-7mm) [as opposed to Suffocated Clovers 3-4mm]; the corolla is shorter than the calyx [longer in Suffocated Clover] and the flower racemes are dispersed along the stems [rather than concentrated at the base of the plant in Suffocated Clover].
Slight resemblance to : Uniquely identifiable characteristics Distinguishing Feature : see captions It likes to inhabit grassy places with short turf on sandy soil near the sea. It is found in the South and East coasts of England, north to Norfolk, and in the Channel Islands. It doesn't grow anywhere near your Author - apart from a recently found outpost in Ainsdale. It is a rare-ish [RR]
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Trifolium | glomeratum | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Fabaceae |
Trifolium (Clovers) |
Pea Family [Fabaceae] |