Trifolium bifidum

Pinole clover, Pinole Clover

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Pinole clover is a California native annual herb found in open, grassy areas, oak chaparral, and forest habitats at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from April to June, this clover produces dull yellow to pink-purple flowers in compact heads 7 to 15 millimeters wide. Growing with sprawling to erect stems, it develops delicate leaflets 1 to 2 centimeters long that are oblanceolate to obovate with distinctively notched tips. Its leaves feature short-awned stipules, and the plant remains glabrous or sparsely finely hairy. As flowers mature, they become reflexed, creating an interesting architectural display in grassland environments.

Habitat: Open, grassy areas, oak chaparral, forest

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 1000 m

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Lake, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Butte, Monterey, Santa Clara, Humboldt, Yolo, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Colusa, Del Norte, Trinity, Shasta, El Dorado, San Diego, Amador, Nevada, Placer, Santa Barbara, Sacramento

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.