Trifolium monanthum

Carpet clover

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Carpet clover is a California native perennial found in high-elevation alpine and subalpine meadows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at elevations between 2,000 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from June to August, this small clover produces delicate white flowers with subtle lavender striations, clustered in tiny heads of 1 to 6 blooms. Growing in dense, cespitose clusters with slender or reduced stems, it forms low-growing mats characteristic of alpine environments. Its leaves are primarily basal, with small leaflets 2 to 12 millimeters long, ranging from elliptic-oblanceolate to widely obovate in shape. The plant's tiny white flowers have calyces 4 to 5 millimeters long with bristle-tipped lobes, adding to its delicate alpine charm.

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Mono, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Fresno, Tulare, Nevada, Alpine, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Shasta, Lake, Trinity, Placer, Ventura, Kern, Sierra, Riverside, Madera, Amador, El Dorado, Butte

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