Kingdom Plantae Family Fabaceae Tribe Trifolieae Scientific name Trifolium lemmonii | Order Fabales Subfamily Faboideae Genus Trifolium Rank Species | |
Similar Trifolium howellii, Trifolium gymnocarpon, Trifolium macraei, Trifolium microdon | ||
Trifolium lemmonii is a species of clover known by the common name Lemmon's clover.
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Distribution
The plant is endemic to the northern Sierra Nevada in eastern California and just into Nevada.
It is a resident of the coniferous forests and sagebrush of the High Sierra.
Some populations are protected within the Plumas National Forest and Tahoe National Forest. It is California Department of Fish and Wildlife and IUCN listed Vulnerable species, and is on the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants.
Description
Trifolium lemmonii is a perennial herb spreading to form a mat or low clump. Each leaf is made up of 3 to 7 thick oval leaflets. The leaflets are 1 to 2 centimeters long, toothed on the edges, and coated in rough hairs.
The inflorescence is a spherical umbel roughly 2 centimeters wide borne on an erect, arching peduncle. The flowes spread and droop from their attachment. Each has a hairy calyx of sepals with narrow, bristlelike lobes. The flower corolla is pale pink in color and just over a centimeter in length.