Pea Family [Fabaceae] |
status
flower
flower
inner
morph
petals
type
type
stem
22nd June 2016, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The early stages - in flower. |
21st Sept 2013, Marshside, Southport, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
At this time of year very few still in flower were to be found. The flower heads at 10-22mm across are smaller than the fruiting heads. Individual flowers 5-7mm long. Identification from the flower alone is very hard. The sepal tubes with their long thread-like multitude of points are deep in the depths and green. |
22nd June 2016, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers turning pinker. |
30th June 2018, Red Rock, West Kirby, Wirral. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers fully open displaying a pink banner 2 smaller white wings and a smaller white keel between those two. Although Strawberry Clover is in the same Vesicaria section of Trifolium as is Reversed Clover (Trifolium resupinatum) it does not have reversed or upside-down florets; all the banners are facing inwards towards the centre as per the norm for Clovers. |
30th June 2018, Red Rock, West Kirby, Wirral. | Photo: © RWD |
All the sepal teeth are roughly the same length. |
22nd June 2016, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Unlike Reversed Clover Strawberry Clover has a ring of broad tapering bracts beneath the inflorescence. |
22nd June 2016, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The bracts beneath on a specimen starting to turn to fruit. |
22nd June 2016, Marshside, Southport, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
When starting to fruit it assumes a globed appearance. Here some flowers are turning to fruit - the calyx expands and the petals turn a golden brown. |
30th June 2018, Red Rock, West Kirby, Wirral. | Photo: © RWD |
Only one flower left. |
22nd June 2016, Marshside, Southport, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers wither into light-brown coloured strips, surrounded by the inflating sepal tubes which are now a purplish-pink colour. Stems slightly hairy, round, with tiny black specks. |
21st Sept 2013, Marshside, Southport, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Sepal tubes 'inflate' more (but not pneumatically as they do on Bladder Senna pods). The fruiting head becomes spherical and looks like a dull pinkish strawberry. They are covered in white hairs. |
30th June 2018, Red Rock, West Kirby, Wirral. | Photo: © RWD |
Fully inflated calyxes. Within are the growing fruits. |
8th Sept 2013, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Calyx tubes have long white hairs. |
21st Sept 2013, Marshside, Southport, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
The fabric of the inflated calyx tubes thins revealing the skeletal network. |
21st Sept 2013, Marshside, Southport, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Within are the darker seeds. Hairs still present, but not as noticeable. Brown fruits lurk within the mesh net. |
8th Sept 2013, Marshside, Sefton Coast, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
The fruits are green at first and more visible than when they later turn dark brown. |
21st July 2018, Green Beach, Aibsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Plan view near fruiting stage. |
21st July 2018, Green Beach, Aibsdale, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
There are a few of another clover in this photo (those like chandeliers viewed from the top - there's one extreme left 1/3rd way down) and several others scattered amongst the Strawberry Clovers. |
21st Sept 2013, Marshside, Southport, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
A cluster of 'strawberry' seed heads, the most reliable way of identifying this clover. A sprawling perennial to 30cm spreading by rooting stems (of the clovers, only White Clover and Western Cloverspread this way) |
21st Sept 2013, Marshside, Southport, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaves in as usual in triplets (trefoil) and similar to those of White Clover but are smaller, thicker and have re-curved veins. |
21st Sept 2013, Marshside, Southport, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
The recurved veins of the leaves and their fine teeth, mostly absent from the ends but more apparent nearer the short stalks. |
10th Sept 2011, Lady's Island Lake, Wexford, Eire | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
The bracts at the junctions of branch stems. |
Not to be semantically confused with : Garden Strawberry [a plant with similar name belonging to the Rose Family (Roseaceae)]. Nor to be confused with Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) a tree planted in gardens and parks which might, if the climate is warm enough, produce fruit which looks superficially somewhat similar to strawberries. Easily mistaken (from the flower) for : White Clover (Trifolium repens) until the globular dull-pink coloured strawberry-like fruiting heads can be found. Some similarities to : Reversed Clover (Trifolium resupinatum) but that has flowers that are upside-down (keel at top and banner/standard below) and the fruits, although globular, are slightly smaller and dull olive in colour. Uniquely identifiable characteristics (if the strawberry-like fruiting heads are found) Distinguishing Feature : The strawberry-like globular fruiting heads coloured a dull pink. Grows on natural grassland especially on clays and near the sea, as does the rarer Sea Clover (Trifolium squamosum) [R] but that occurs only near the coasts of Southern England, not on the Sefton Coastline or anywhere north of about Lincoln. It is insensitive to soil salinity and is often to be found just above the strandline. Strawberry Clover is in the same sub-family of Trifolium as is Reversed Clover (Trifolium resupinatum) - that of Vesicaria but the flowers of Strawberry Clover are not reversed (upside-down) as are those of Reversed Clover. The two look totally different from each other except when both are in the fruiting stages where the fruits of both are bent over downwards, but those of Strawberry Clover are reddish brown whereas those of Reversed Clover a fawny brown.
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Trifolium | fragiferum | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Fabaceae |
Trifolium (Clovers) |
Pea Family [Fabaceae] |