Trifolium subterraneum

Subterranean clover, Subterranean Clover

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Subterranean clover is a naturalized annual found in northern Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, northern and southern Coast Ranges, and other regions in meadows, roadsides, and disturbed areas at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces predominantly white flowers in compact heads about one centimeter wide. Growing with prostrate or creeping hairy stems that root along the ground, it spreads in low, sprawling patches. Its leaves have three leaflets 10 to 15 millimeters long, each obovate or heart-shaped, with wide stipules that taper to a point. In a unique adaptation, the plant's flower stalks curve and grow into the ground after flowering, delivering its fruits directly into the soil.

Habitat: Meadows, roadsides, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: NCoR, n SN, GV, SCoR, probably elsewhere

California counties: Humboldt, Santa Cruz, Mendocino, Marin, Napa, Merced, Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, El Dorado, Nevada, Calaveras, Placer, San Francisco, Sacramento, Tehama, Alameda, Solano, Contra Costa, Butte, Yuba, Glenn, Stanislaus, Del Norte, San Mateo, San Diego, Santa Clara, Yolo, Colusa, Shasta, Sutter, Lake, Monterey

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