Pea Family [Fabaceae] |
status
flower
inner
morph
petals
type
type
stem
sex
27th July 2012, ex-works, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Spreads forming a soft-pile carpet on sandy or grassy places near the sea. |
7th Aug 2007, Martin Mere, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Barely 20cm high, the flowers consist of fuzzy and feathery-hairy spikes of pink to lilac flower heads resembling a Hare's foot. |
5th Aug 2008, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Bird's-eye view of the fluffy, elongated pink-white flowerheads.
[The feathery leaves belong to Yarrow] |
8th June 2011, Duver, St Helens, IOW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Likes to grow on sandy ground near the sea, but not where the tide will reach. This lone specimen sprawling along the ground. |
17th Nov 2008, Isle of Wight. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Mike Cotterill |
The stem grows quite long and zig-zags at each branching. Plenty of triplet leaves along the stem(s). |
14th June 2015, Crymlyn Burrows, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Somewhat shorter specimens. |
29th June 2014, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Oh, a flower with a square stalk (most Hare's-foot clover are round).It is covered in upwardly-directed hairs which are appressed to both stems and flower stalks. |
29th June 2014, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
There are a pair of purple-striped bracts either side of a flowering junction, with a very long acuminate point. |
27th July 2012, ex-works, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Five plus five hairy sepals in two rows below the flowerhead. The sepals have long extended wiry teeth coloured purple. |
29th June 2014, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Just like many clovers Hare's-foot Clover has 5 long teeth at the top of each long sepal cup; with the two of the teeth being longer than the others. |
27th July 2007, Formby, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The flower heads elongate as they age, becominh cylindrical. The trefoil leaves are narrow and hardly toothed (lower right). |
27th July 2007, Formby, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The flower head spikes consist of a clustered bunch of very small white flowers hidden amidst a set of longer and feathery hairs which have a pinkish or light green hue. |
27th July 2012, ex-works, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The stems are branched with a red bract and a trefoil leaf at each juncture. The flowerheads vary in length from about 25mm long and looking like a test-tube brush to a 1cm nearly spherical ball. The |
27th July 2012, ex-works, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaf and stem hairs are appressed (flat on the surface). |
7th Aug 2007, Martin Mere, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
The individual flowers are small, white and shorter than the feathery hairs twixt the flowers (centre flowerhead at top). As it matures it elongates into an extended fruiting head. |
unknown date, IOW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
A seed head. Hairs appressed against the flower stalk. |
27th July 2012, ex-works, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The purple wiry sepal teeth have feathery hairs almost hiding the white flowers with very small openings. Only two tiny white flowers are visible amidst the mass of feathery hairs in this photograph. |
7th Aug 2007, Martin Mere, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
After flowering, it goes to seed (the orange projections at the centre of the 5 feathery and wiry purple sepal teeth. |
19th Sept 2017, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Turning to fruit after flowering. The brown 'clam-shells' hold the seeds, each one has 5 equal-length brown and very long sepal-teeth covered in fine hairs to catch the wind, as Donovan once sang. |
19th Sept 2017, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
There is but one seed within each seed casing. |
19th Sept 2017, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
You can even espy the shadow of the seed within its 'clam-shell'. Hairs long, white and mostly angled forwards. |
27th July 2012, ex-works, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Two trefoil leaves. There is a tiny point at the apex of each leaflet. Round stems with appressed white hairs. |
unknown date, IOW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Now do you see it properly? It is many branched; even the branches are branched. |
unknown date, IOW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The leaves are long-oval, hairy on both sides with somewhat appressed hairs and randomly un-even at the end. |
unknown date, IOW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
In the crook of each leaf-branch are some hairy stipules (best seen in the lowest leaf-branch). |
Some similarities to : Sea Clover (Trifolia squamosum) which grows up to twice as high (40cm) has rounded flowerheads (like clover), has similar long narrow leaves and also grows near the sea (although only South of Birmingham). Slight resemblance to :
Uniquely identifiable characteristics Distinguishing Feature : The fluffy furry Hare's-foot cylindrical flower head in the shape of a Hare's foot.
No relation to : Hare's-foot Inkcap [a mushroom with similar name] nor to Grows near the sea amidst short turf or on old dunes. Usually avoids limy soils.
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Trifolium | arvense | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Fabaceae |
Trifolium (Clovers) |
Pea Family [Fabaceae] |