Relatives
Trifolium rubens L. - Rubescent Clover.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Trifolium L.Morphology and biology.
Perennial herbaceous plant. Root long and strong. Few stems, 20-80 cm tall, simple, rigid, glabrous, somewhat reddish, abundant leaves. Stipules glabrous, very large, their free parts lanceolate. Leaves ternate, leaf blades 4.0-8.0 cm long and 1.0-1.5 cm wide, oblong-lanceolate, at margins finely dentate with dense net of lateral veins thickened toward margins. Inflorescences heads, solitary or paired on stem tops, ovoid, 4-10 cm long and 2-3. cm wide, dense-flowered, on short stipes. Corolla reddish, 1.5 mm long, two-thirds fused into tube. Fruit is an ovoid one-seeded pod. Flowers in June, fruits in July. Self-incompatible, cross-pollinated plant. 2n=16.Distribution.
Western European part of the former USSR, Central Ukraine, Crimea.Ecology.
In meadows, forest fringes, among shrubberies.Economic value.
Valuable forage plant. Good honey plant.References:
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).
Roskov Y.R. et al. 2005. ILDIS World Database of Legumes. http://www.ildis.org/LegumeWeb?sciname=Trifolium%20rubens .