Trifolium angustifolium L.

Narrowleaf Clover; Narrowleaf Crimson Clover

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Narrowleaf Clover is an introduced annual in the Bean family (Fabaceae). It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It Alabama it has been collected in the central portion of the state. It grows in fields and pastures, on roadsides, and in vacant lots. Narrowleaf Clover is an annual with a tap root. Stems are often branched from near the base. The stems are pubescent with appressed hairs. Leaves are alternate with prominent stipules. The leaves have a short petiole and are trifoliate. The leaflets are linear to narrowly lanceolate. Flowers are produced in terminal, cylindrical spikes. Each flower has a calyx with long, hairy, needle-like lobes that harden into bristles as the fruit matures. Flowers are papilionaceous and reddish-pink in color. Each flower has five petals: the central standard, the two lateral ‘wings’, and the lower two petals are united to form the ‘keel’. The flowers are very small and almost hidden among the bristles of the calyx. The fruit is a 1-2 seeded legume.--A. Diamond

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Not Native

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