Nearctica - Eastern Wildflowers - Fabaceae - Smaller Hop Clover (Trifolium campestre)

Smaller Hop Clover

(Trifolium campestre)

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.

Trifolium aureum

Hop Clover is a larger species (flower clusters larger than 0.5 inches in diameter). The top leaflet of a leaf triad lacks a petiole. Hop Clover is an erect, not prostrate species.

Trifolium dubium

Least Hop Clover is very similar to Smaller Hop Clover, but the flower heads are very small with only 5 to 15 flowers per head.

Medicago arabica

Spotted Medick has a dark spot on each leaflet.

Medicago lupulina

The stems of Black Medick are hairy and the tip of each leaflet usually has a small spine.

Smaller Hop Clover (Trifolium campestre)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification: Plant prostrate. Flowers yellow, pealike, arranged in a round cluster. Flower 0.5 or less 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 with a small petiole and often notched at the apex.

Distribution: Throughout most of North America.

Habitat: Smaller Hop Clover is a weedy species found in lawns, empty lots, fields, and roadsides.

Flowering period: May to September.

Smaller Hop Clover (Trifolium campestre)

Similar Species:

Hop Clover (Trifolium aureum)

Least Hop Clover (Trifolium dubium)

Spotted Medick (Medicago arabica)

Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)

Similar Species