Trifolium amoenum, known by the common name
Showy Indian clover is an endangered annual
herbA herb is a plant that is valued for flavor, scent, or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes....
that subsists in grassland areas of the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
and the California Coast Ranges. This
wildflowerA wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
has an erect growth habit and is typically found on heavy soils at elevations less than 100 meters. Recent conservation research on
T. amoenum has been conducted by the Bodega Marine Laboratory.
The flower head is somewhat spherical with a diameter of about 2.5 centimeters.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Trifolium amoenum' Start a new discussion about 'Trifolium amoenum' Answer questions from other users |
Trifolium amoenum, known by the common name
Showy Indian clover is an endangered annual
herbA herb is a plant that is valued for flavor, scent, or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes....
that subsists in grassland areas of the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
and the California Coast Ranges. This
wildflowerA wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
has an erect growth habit and is typically found on heavy soils at elevations less than 100 meters. Recent conservation research on
T. amoenum has been conducted by the Bodega Marine Laboratory.
Morphology
The flower head is somewhat spherical with a diameter of about 2.5 centimeters. The petals are purple gradating to white tips.
History and conservation
Edward Lee Greene collected the first recorded specimen of this plant in 1890 in Solano County. The historical range of
Trifolium amoenum was from the western extreme of the
Sacramento ValleyThe Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
in Solano County, west and north to Marin and Sonoma counties, where many sites were presumed extirpated by urban and agricultural development. From further expansion of the human population,
Trifolium amoenum had become a
rare speciesA rare species is an organism which is very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....
by the mid 1900s. Through the latter 1900s the number of distinct populations dwindled to about 20 in number, from pressure of
an expanding human populationOverpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. In common parlance, the term usually refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth....
and urban development.
By 1993 the species was thought to be extinct, but was rediscovered by Peter Connors in the form of a single plant on a site in western Sonoma County. Subsequently the seeds from this single organism were used to grow more specimens. Presently there is only a single extant population, subsequently discovered in 1996, in northern Marin County, which numbers approximately 200 plants.
T. amoenum became a federally listed endangered species in 1997.
External links