Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Trifolium incarnatum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Crimson Clover from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trifolium incarnatum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trifolium incarnatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Trifolium incarnatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-14-004:
Trifolium incarnatum FAMILY Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trifolium incarnatum
COMMON NAME:
Crimson Clover
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_trin3_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0404zc_12
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm120405_569
April Pickens County SC
Dense heads of crimson flowers, first ovoid, then cylindrical, up to 3" long, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm120405_571
April Pickens County SC
Flower heads are not subtended by leaves or expanded stipules, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120405_574
April Pickens County SC
)
Sam Pratt sbp060221_0568
June Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
)
Sam Pratt sbp060221_0568b
June Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
Calyx densely tawny villous, lobes at first erect but later wide-spreading, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Trifolium incarnatum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trifolium incarnatum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trifolium incarnatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Trifolium incarnatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-14-004:
Trifolium incarnatum
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trifolium incarnatum
1538
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Fields, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Common (uncommon in Mountains, uncommon in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 3 leaflets
Mostly alternate
Stipules conspicuous, persistent, & adnate to the petiole
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Red
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p211
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p380
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p535
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p345
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p200
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p034
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p208
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p142
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p180
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p086
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".