Trifolium macrocephalum

Large-head clover, Large-Head Clover

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Large-head clover is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, Modoc Plateau, and mountain regions in rocky sagebrush and juniper habitats at elevations of 650 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to May, this clover produces light pink-purple flowers in dense heads 3 to 5 centimeters wide with distinctive bristle-like calyx lobes. Growing with ascending hairy stems and a rhizomatous root system, it forms compact clusters up to 6 centimeters tall. Its leaves feature 7 to 9 thick, obovate leaflets 1 to 2.5 centimeters long, with basal stipules turning brown-papery as they mature. The plant produces 1 to 3 seeds in its characteristic dense, rounded flower clusters.

Habitat: Rocky flats or slopes, with sagebrush, juniper, to mountain ridges

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 650-2500 m

Bioregions: KR, CaR, n SNH, MP

California counties: Kern, Modoc, Lassen, Siskiyou, Los Angeles, Plumas, Sierra, Shasta, Riverside, Humboldt, Ventura, San Benito, Del Norte, Tulare, Sacramento, Fresno, Santa Barbara, Madera, San Diego

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