Trifolium pratense

Red clover

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Red clover is a naturalized perennial herb found in California's Central Valley and northern Great Basin in disturbed areas at elevations of 0 to 2,900 meters. Flowering from April to October, this plant produces red-purple flowers in dense head-like clusters 2 to 3 centimeters wide. Growing with ascending, generally hairy stems, it forms a loose, spreading habit. Its leaves have three leaflets 1.5 to 3.5 centimeters long, elliptic to obovate in shape, with bristle-tipped stipules. The fruit opens circumscissile, releasing one to two seeds.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Apr-Oct

Elevation: 0-2900 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, n GB

California counties: Alameda, Humboldt, Mono, Del Norte, El Dorado, Kings, San Luis Obispo, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, Alpine, Calaveras, Modoc, Butte, Trinity, Siskiyou, Lassen, Shasta, Yuba, Tehama, Mendocino, Los Angeles, Inyo, Napa, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Sacramento, Plumas, Lake, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego, San Mateo, Monterey, Amador, Santa Clara, Sonoma, San Joaquin, Kern

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