Trifolium variegatum

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Trifolium variegatum is a California native perennial herb found in open moist fields, wet forest meadows, and roadsides from coastal to mountain regions at elevations of 0 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces lavender to purple flowers with white tips in dense head-like clusters 0.5 to 2.5 centimeters wide. Growing with prostrate to erect wiry stems that are generally smooth, it can form low-spreading or more upright growth habits. Its leaves have three leaflets typically obovate or wedge-shaped, with lower stipules remaining entire while upper stipules become deeply cut. The flower's bell-shaped calyx ranges from 3 to 10 millimeters long, with distinctive veined tube and bristle-tipped lobes that add texture to its delicate inflorescence.

Habitat: Open generally moist fields, wet forest meadows, roadsides

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 0-2500 m

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Kern, Tuolumne, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, Los Angeles, Inyo, Orange, Merced, Mono, Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, Nevada, Tulare, Placer, Santa Clara, El Dorado, Plumas, Siskiyou, Trinity, Shasta, San Mateo, Yuba, Butte, Marin, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, Calaveras, Modoc, Sonoma, Lake, Colusa, Glenn, Tehama, Mendocino, Napa, Lassen, Contra Costa, Stanislaus, Humboldt, Alameda, Santa Cruz, Amador, San Joaquin, Del Norte, Kings, Sutter, Solano, Sierra, Yolo, San Benito

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