Usambara clover
| Usambara clover | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Trifolium usambarense | ||||||||||||
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Usambara clover ( Trifolium usambarense ) is a species of plant from the genus Klee ( Trifolium ). He is in the genus in the section Lotoidea found there, he belongs to the section Ochreata .
description
The Usambara clover is a one-year or perennial , herbaceous plant achieved the stature heights from 2 to 10 centimeters. The stem axis is erect or ascending. It is bald in the lower part, but hairy above. It is widely branching and sometimes forms stolons .
The leaves are very short stalked. The leaf stalks are fused with the stipules along their entire length . The leaves are dreifedrig, the individual pinna between 0.6 and 2.2 inches long and 0.3 to 0.7 inches wide. The blades are elongated, elliptical or, conversely, lanceolate and narrowing towards the base. The leaf margin is continuously serrated. The tip is rounded or notched. The stipules are about 10 millimeters long and oblong. The free part is shorter than the overgrown part. It is triangular to lanceolate with a sharp tip.
The inflorescences are 0.9 to 1.8 inches long and 0.7 to 1 inches wide. They are oblong ovoid or ellipsoidal. They sit on 3 to 6 centimeters long hairy inflorescence axes in the leaf axils or terminally.
The calyx is 4 to 6 millimeters long and hairy. It is tubular in the lower part and has 10 or 11 nerves. The calyx teeth are unequal and longer than the calyx tube. They are crescent-shaped and bend back to fruit ripeness. The crown is 0.4 to 0.7 inches long. It is pink or rarely white. The flag is broadly elliptical.
The legumes are 2 to 3 millimeters long. They are 2-seeded, egg-shaped or ellipsoid. The pods are cuticle-like, glabrous with distinct seams. The seeds measure between 1.6 and 2 millimeters. They are spherical, matt and brown in color.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 16.
distribution
The distribution area of the Usambara clover is in Africa, it includes Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Bioko, Cameroon, eastern Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, southern Ethiopia, Zambia and Nigeria. Neophytic occurrences are found in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Usambara clover grows in humid places in savannahs, rivers and on the shores of Lake Victoria.
literature
- Michael Zohary, David Heller: The Genus Trifolium . The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities , Jerusalem 1984, ISBN 978-965-208-056-1 , pp. 104 f .
- John M. Gillett, Norman L. Taylor, M. Gillett: The World of Clovers . Iowa State University Press , Ames 2001, ISBN 978-0-8138-2986-9 , pp. 430 f .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Trifolium usambarense at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis