Trifolium tomentosum
Woolly clover
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Family: Fabaceae · Type: Herb · Not Native
Trifolium tomentosum (Woolly clover) is a non-native California herb in the Fabaceae family, recognized by . Key features: heads woolly in fruit, inflating sepals.
Woolly clover is a naturalized annual found in northern California Coast Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, Sacramento Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area grasslands and roadsides at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces pink flowers in woolly heads 6 to 12 millimeters long that become notably fuzzy in fruit. Growing with decumbent to slightly erect stems, it develops delicate low-spreading branches that form soft clusters. Its leaves have three leaflets, each 4 to 12 millimeters long, with obovate to obtriangular shapes and distinctive ovate stipules. The flowers gradually become reflexed, creating a soft, silvery-pink groundcover effect in disturbed grassland areas.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 47 sympatric species. Key features: heads woolly in fruit, inflating sepals
Habitat and range
Habitat: Grassland, roadsides
Elevation: < 400 m
California counties: Contra Costa, Amador, Butte, Sacramento, Placer, Los Angeles, Marin, Sonoma, Solano, Monterey, Napa, Mendocino, Alameda, Yuba, San Mateo, Madera, Santa Cruz
Outside California: United States, native to Mediterranean
Bloom period
Trifolium tomentosum blooms Apr-Jun.
How to tell it apart
vs Medicago: Trifolium flowers persist around fruits; Medicago flowers fall off leaving exposed coiled fruits.; vs Oxalis: Trifolium has pea-shaped flowers; wood-sorrels (Oxalis) have 5-petaled star-shaped flowers and heart-notched leaflets.; vs Melilotus: Trifolium flowers persist enclosing fruits; Melilotus flowers fall off leaving exposed ridged pods.; vs Castilleja: Trifolium has pea flowers and 3 toothed leaflets; paintbrush (Castilleja) has tubular flowers in colorful bracts.; vs Acmispon: Trifolium leaflets have toothed edges; Acmispon leaflets have smooth untoothed margins.
Frequently asked questions
Is Trifolium tomentosum native to California?
No. Trifolium tomentosum is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Trifolium tomentosum bloom?
Trifolium tomentosum blooms Apr-Jun.
Where in California does Trifolium tomentosum grow?
Trifolium tomentosum occurs in Contra Costa, Amador, Butte, Sacramento, Placer, Los Angeles, Marin, Sonoma and other counties, at elevations of < 400 m.
What plant family does Trifolium tomentosum belong to?
Trifolium tomentosum is in the Fabaceae family, genus Trifolium.
What habitat does Trifolium tomentosum grow in?
Trifolium tomentosum grows in Grassland, roadsides.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.