Hop Clover

(Trifolium aureum)

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

Hop Clover (Trifolium aureum)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification: Plant erect. Flowers yellow, pealike, arranged in a round cluster. Flower 0.5 to 0.75 inches in diameter. As the flower heads age, the florets fold down and become brown suggesting a dried hop. Stem smooth. Leaf with 3 leaflets, the top leaflet sessile at the junction without a small petiole and not notched at the tip. Plant 6 to 16 inches.

Distribution: Throughout most of eastern North America and the Pacific Coast region, but absent from the central and southwestern states, the southeastern United States, and most of the Rocky Mountain region.

Habitat: Found in disturbed areas such as roadsides, fields, lawns, and empty lots.

Flowering period: June to September.

Hop Clover (Trifolium aureum)

Similar Species:

Smaller Hop Clover (Trifolium campestre)

Least Hop Clover (Trifolium dubium)

Spotted Medick (Medicago arabica)

Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)

 

Similar Species