Trifolium hybridumL. - Alsike Clover
Scientific Description:
Ascending or erect, perennial, 5‒50 cm. Leaflets 1‒3 cm, obovate to rhombic, apex emarginate; stipules herbaceous, obovate to lanceolate with a subulate or cuspidate tip. Inflorescence umbellate, 1‒2 cm diam., globose, 12‒20-flowered, peduncles longer than leaves. Bracts 1‒2 mm, ovate. Flowers white to pink, long pedicelled. Calyx 7‒9 mm, whitish, 5-nerved; teeth lanceolate, unequal. Corolla 7‒9 mm. Legume 2‒4-seeded.
Flowering time: May−September.
Habitat: Meadows, damp places, etc., s.l−2000 m.
var. hybridum
Stems ascending, usually 20-30(-50) cm; leaflets 2-3 cm.
Reference:
Zohary M (1970). Trifolium hybridum L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 3: 395.
Public Description:
Trifolium hybridum L. var. hybridum, common name “alsike clover”, is a perennial plant which is native to much of southern Europe and southwestern Asia, especially in mountainous region. It has a semi-erect, sparsely branched, grooved stem, hairy in its upper regions. The leaves are alternate and stalked with small stipules. The leaves have three blunt-tipped ovate, unspotted leaflets with finely toothed margins. The inflorescence has a long stalk and is globose. Originating in mainland Europe, it has become established as an introduced plant in the British Isles and throughout the temperate regions of the world. Despite its scientific name, alsike clover is not of hybrid origin. The plant gets its common name from the town of Alsike in Sweden from which Linnaeus first described it. He thought it was a cross between white clover (T. repens) and red clover (T. pratense), but in this he was mistaken and it is a separate species.
References:
Anonymous (2015). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifolium_hybridum, Accessed date: 11.07.2015.
Keskin M (2012). Trifolium L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 488‒498.
Zohary M (1970). Trifolium hybridum L,. In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, 3: 395, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.