Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus Trifolium, consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with highest diversity in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics. They are small annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants, typically growing up to 30 cm tall. The leaves are trifoliate, monofoil, bifoil, cinquefoil, hexafoil, septfoil, etcetera, with stipules adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers; the small, few-seeded pods are enclosed in the calyx. Other closely related genera often called clovers include Melilotus and Medicago.
Trifolium pratense, the red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions.
Trifolium wormskioldii is a species of clover native to the western half of North America. Its common names include cows clover, coast clover, sand clover, seaside clover, springbank clover, and Wormskjold's clover.
Trifolium cyathiferum is a species of clover known by the common names cup clover and bowl clover.
Ptilagrostis kingii is a species of grass known by the common names Sierra false needlegrass and King's ricegrass. It is endemic to the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada of California, where it grows in meadows and near streams in subalpine and alpine climates.
Trifolium albopurpureum is a species of clover known by the common name rancheria clover.
Trifolium andersonii is a species of clover known by the common names fiveleaf clover and Anderson's clover. It is native to the western United States, particularly the Great Basin and adjacent high mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada. It was named after Charles Lewis Anderson by Asa Gray.
Trifolium beckwithii is a species of clover known by the common name Beckwith's clover.
Trifolium bolanderi is a species of clover known by the common names Bolander's clover and parasol clover.
Trifolium breweri, which has the common names forest clover and Brewer's clover, is a perennial clover that is native to mixed evergreen forests and coastal coniferous forests in Southern Oregon and California.
Trifolium depauperatum is a species of clover known by the common names cowbag clover, poverty clover, and balloon sack clover.
Trifolium eriocephalum is a species of clover known by the common name woollyhead clover or hairy head clover.
Trifolium lemmonii is a species of clover known by the common name Lemmon's clover.
Trifolium macrocephalum is a species of clover known by the common name largehead clover.
Trifolium monanthum is a species of clover known by the common name mountain carpet clover.
Trifolium obtusiflorum is a species of clover known by the common name clammy clover. It is native to California in the Peninsular, Transverse, Sierra Nevada, and the California Coast Ranges and Cascade Range into southwestern Oregon.
Trifolium oliganthum is a species of clover known by the common name fewflower clover. It is native to western coastal and montane North America from British Columbia to California, the Sierra Nevada, and to Baja California, where it occurs in many types of habitat.
Trifolium andinum is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae known by the common name Intermountain clover. It is native to the Intermountain West of the United States from Nevada and Arizona to Wyoming and New Mexico. The rare var. podocephalum is endemic to Nevada.
Trifolium leibergii is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Leiberg's clover. It is native to Oregon and Nevada in the United States.
Trifolium alpinum is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name alpine clover. It is native to the Alps.
