Relatives
Trifolium spadiceum L. - Chestnut Clover, Maroon Clover.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Trifolium L.Synonyms.
Amarenus spadiceus (L.) C.Presl, Chrysaspis spadicea (L.) Greene.Morphology and biology.
Annual or biennial plant 15.35 cm tall. Stems erect, simple or poorly branched, pubescent. Leaflets 10.20 mm long, 5.9 mm wide, elliptic or oblong-obovate, their apex obtuse or truncate, sometimes slightly emarginate, margins with fine, quite often distant teeth, at base margin entire. Bracts very short, scarcely distinct. Flowers 4.5 mm long, initially yellow, then dark brown, in oval-cylindrical heads located on stem ends by 1.2; sometimes 1.2 heads arising on peduncle from axils of upper leaves. Calyx 2.3 mm long, bilabiate, subscarious, 5-veined. Two upper teeth short, sometimes scarcely distinct, glabrous together with tube; lower linear teeth 2.4 times as long as upper ones, squarrosely long-ciliate. Pods elliptic, 1-seeded. Autogamous plant. Flowers and fruits in June - August. 2n=14.Distribution.
European part of the former USSR (except for south), West Siberia.Ecology.
In damp, sometimes boggy meadows, forest glades, forest fringes, light woodlands.Economic value.
May be used as forage plant.References:
Grossheim AA. 1952. Flora of Caucasus. 2nd ed. V.5. P.194-221. (In Russian).Bobrov EG. 1987. Clover - Trifolium L. In: Fedorov AA., Tzvelev NN., eds. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V.6. P.195-208. (In Russian).
Bobrov EG. 1945. Clover - Trifolium L. In: Shishkin BK., ed. Flora URSS. V.11. P.189-261. (In Russian).
Hulten E., Fries M. 1986. Atlas of North European vascular plants north of the Tropic of Cancer. V.1-3. Konigstein: Koeltz Scientific Books.
Meusel H. et al. 1965. Vergleichende Chorologie der Zentraleuropaischen Flora. Jena. 583 S.
Roskov YR. et al. 2005. ILDIS World Database of Legumes. [Online] Available at: http://www.ildis.org/LegumeWeb?sciname=Trifolium%20spadiceum .