Pea Family [Fabaceae] |
status
flower
flower
inner
morph
petals
type
stem
rarity
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Rough Clover is admixed with a small patch of Knotted Hedge-Parsley but in this carefully selected part of the photo, your Author thinks that the only example of that present in this view are the paler-green fern-type leaves at the bottom leftish side; all the rest is Rough Clover (with the darker-green trefoil leaves, the small and tight clumps of tiny white (sometimes pink) flowers and their fruiting stage where the fruits are orange-brownish. All the thickish, hairy, pink stems also belong to Rough Clover. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
All visible here are stems, leaves, flowers and fruits of Rough Clover (except for the large yellow petal on the left side, the larger, brighter-green leaves at the top which belong to an unknown other plant, and the brighter-green fern-type leaves of yet more Knotted Hedge-Parsley). [There might also be some hairy pods of yet some other unknown plant in the bottom half of the photo].
As can be seen, Rough Clover os usually procumbent along the ground. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Apart from the long, thin, green spike at the bottom left, and the curved green spikes at the top, and the long broad faintly-toothed left at bottom right, all the rest belongs to Rough Clover. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
All Rough Clover: The hairy trefoil leaves, the clustered white (or pinkish) barely-opened clusters of small flowers and the thick, hairy stems; all are Rough Clover. |
26th June 2019, flanks of Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
All Rough Clover (except for the pale-fawn object with spiky-hairy bright-green object below it on the right, and some grass-like leaves top right) |
29th May 2011, Bembridge Point, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The pink coloured Knotted Clover is the analogue of this rarer white flowered plant which is a hairy annual, the hairs being appressed to the stem upwards. All leaves are alternate on the stem (despite the top 2 leaves usually looking as if they are opposite, but they are not). It is usually procumbent along the ground, measuring up to 20cm in length. |
23rd July 2017, Visitor Centre, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
This specimen fruiting. |
23rd July 2017, Visitor Centre, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The fruiting stage. |
29th May 2011, Bembridge Point, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The leaves are in 3-s with the individual leaflets being obovate and hairier underneath. The flowers are in small crowded bunches and do not seem to open much at all. |
29th May 2011, Bembridge Point, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
An isolated bunch of just 7 white-petalled flowers. The flower heads (bunches) are not stalked and between 5 to 12mm long. |
29th May 2011, Bembridge Point, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The flowers might have pink tinges before they are fully developed. The leaflets of the leaves on the stem have a gradually tapered point at their tips. |
29th May 2011, Bembridge Point, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The flowers are 4 to 7mm long and don't seem to open wide at all. |
18th June 2012, causeway, Isle of Purbeck, South England. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The side-veins of the leaflets curve outwards (best seen in top 2 leaflets). |
18th June 2012, causeway, Isle of Purbeck, South England. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The rear flowerhead still in flower; the nearer one turning to fruit. |
23rd July 2017, Visitor Centre, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
This seems to be as far as the petals open, with the thin but long banner folded at 45° around the longish wings and the smaller keel hiding well. |
23rd July 2017, Visitor Centre, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Just turning to fruit; the petals withering to a fawn-brown. |
1st July 2006, Norton Spit, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
The five sepal teeth look about equal in length. [The two upwardly-curved brown cup-shaped objects on the middle left are old leaves - look at the outwardly-curved veins] |
1st July 2006, Norton Spit, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
In fruit the racemes are spherical to ovoidal (between 1.5x to twice as long as they are wide). [The curled up dark-brown but hairy 'tails' are the old leaves] |
1st July 2006, Norton Spit, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
1st July 2006, Norton Spit, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
When in fruit the sepal teeth splay outwards. |
30th May 2011, Bembridge Point, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Two specimens hung out to dry. The upper leaves are longer than the lower leaves. [Smallest squares: 1 mm] |
Photo: (CC by 2.0) Diane Napier |
Note the veins in the leaves |
Easily mistaken for : Knotted Clover (Trifolium striatum) which is also both hairy and procumbent but at up to 30cm could be longer than Rough Clover at up to 20cm. Knotted Clover has flowers 4-7mm long too but they are pink (not the white to pale-pink of Rough Clover).
Not to be semantically confused with : Rough Chervil (Chaerophyllum temulum), For identifying characteristics, see captions.
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Trifolium | scabrum | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Fabaceae |
Trifolium (Clovers) |
Pea Family [Fabaceae] |