Trifolium dubium Sibth.

Least hop clover, small hop clover, suckling clover

Similar species

	Trifolium aureum	Trifolium campestre	You are here Trifolium dubium
Common Name	hop clover	low hop clover	least hop clover
Plant	6–18″ (15–45 cm) high, multiply branched, and usually erect.	4–12″ (10–30 cm) tall, sometimes erect, sometimes growing along the ground. Stems are green or reddish green, finely hairy, and multiply branched.	2–6″ (5–15 cm) tall, often forming mats. Stems are green or reddish, and multiply branched.
Leaves	Trifoliate. The central leaf is not on a separate stem (petiole). Leaflets are about ¾″ long ⨉ ¼″ wide (1.9 cm ⨉ 6.3 mm).	Trifoliate, on a petiole about ½″ (1.3 cm) long. Each leaflet is ½–¾″ (1.3–1.9 cm) long, with small teeth near the leaf tips. The central leaf is on a longer stalk than with other hop clovers, and often notched at the top	Alternate, trifoliate, with a larger center leaf on a short petiole (stem), often notched at the top.
Flowers	Each flower is a single oval or beehive-shaped inflorescence atop a pedicel (stalk) ½–2″ (1.3–5 cm) long. Each inflorescence is ½–¾″ (1.3–1.9 cm) tall, with a dense, orderly array of tiny bright yellow flowers.	A single cylindrical or spherical flowerhead on a short pedicel (stalk) contains 20-40 flowers. Each flower is bright yellow, with 10 stamens. Upper petals of the flowers have grooves.	Each flowerhead is a small oval to spherical raceme about ¼″ (6.3 mm) in size, atop a long stalk, with 3-20 diminutive yellow flowers. Flowers appear from May to October.
Fruit	Flowers turn rusty brown and wilt, and seeds fall to the ground instead of forming a fruit.	The flowers dry and turn brown, enclosing one-seeded pods ⅛″ (3 mm) long.	Flowers turn brown when seeds ripen, each enclosing tiny egg-shaped pods 1/32–1/16″ (1.5–2 mm) long.
Range/ Zones			USDA Zones: 8a-9b
Habitats	Grasslands, fields, roadsides, wastelands.	Temperate grasslands, fields, roadsides, wastelands, cultivated fields	Disturbed soil, meadows, common in lawns.

	Medicago lupulina
Common Name	black medic
Plant	Plant may reach up to 2½′ (76 cm) long. Often prostrate, light green or reddish green, covered with white hairs.
Leaves	Compound, with three hairy oval leaflets. The two side leaflets are sessile, attaching directly to the stem, while the center leaflet has short petiole and a toothed tip.
Flowers	Compact globe-shaped bunches of 15-50 yellow flowers are each 1/16–⅛″ (2–3 mm) in size.
Fruit	Brown seed pods are hairy and coiled, in dense clusters. Each pod contains one seed.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Prairies (black soil, clay), weedy meadows, old fields, cropland, pastures, vacant lots, landfills, cemeteries, lawns, areas along railroads and roadsides, and miscellaneous waste areas; common in low-cut lawns

Trifolium dubium description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.