Trifolium longipes

General: Perennial, diverse in habit, 8-40 cm tall; stems erect or ascending, sometimes somewhat woody at the base; rhizomes sometimes present; taprooted. Leaves: Basal and cauline, alternate, trifoliate, the leaflets oval, elliptic, oblong, or oblanceolate, 0.5-6 cm long, 2-12 mm wide, distinctly pinnately veined, glabrous above, sparsely strigose beneath, margin wavy- denticulate; free tips of the stipules ovate or lance- attenuate, 6-22 mm long, margin denticulate or few- toothed; petiole 2-8 cm long. Flowers: Inflorescence head-like, appearing umbel-like, 5-16 flowered, borne on a peduncle 1-7 cm long; involucral bracts minute, inconspicuous, often connate into a low collar; calyx 4-6 mm long, grayish strigose; corolla 6-13 mm long, whitish or pinkish, fading to brown, banner 7-11 mm long, the keel and wings somewhat shorter; flowers May-June. Fruits: Legume; seeds 2-6. Ecology: Meadows, streambanks, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests; 1800-2600 m (6000-8500 ft); Apache, Coconino, and Greenlee counties; western and southwestern U.S. Notes: Trifolium neurophyllum (Mogollon clover) is generally a larger and more robust plant than T. longipes, and bears pink to purple corollas. It is apparently known in our area in the White Mountains of Apache County. Trifolium longipes is a host plant for orange sulphur, clouded sulphur, Reakirt-s blue, greenish blue, and Mexican cloudywing butterflies. Editor: Springer et al. 2008