Trifolium wormskioldii is a species of clover native to the western half of North America. Its common names include cows clover, coast clover, sand clover, seaside clover, springbank clover, and Wormskjold's clover.

Description

Trifolium wormskioldii, a legume, is a perennial herb sometimes taking a matlike form, with decumbent or upright stems. The leaves are made up of leaflets measuring 1 to 3 cm long. The lower stipules are tipped with bristles and the upper stipules may be toothed. The rounded inflorescences are 2 to 3 cm wide. The sepals are bristle-tipped. The corollas are pinkish purple or magenta with white tips.

Etymology

The species was given its scientific name in honour of the Danish botanist Morten Wormskjold.

Distribution and habitat

This plant is native to the western half of North America from Alaska, through California, to Mexico. It is a perennial herb that grows in many locales, from beaches to mountain ridges, below about 3200 m in elevation. Habitats it grows in include chaparral, oak woodland, grassland, yellow pine forest, red fir forest, lodgepole forest, subalpine forest, and wetland−riparian.

Uses

Many Native American groups of western North America use this clover for food. The herbage and flowers are eaten raw, sometimes salted. The roots are commonly steamed or boiled and eaten with fish, fish eggs, and fish grease. This species is host to the caterpillar of the Western cloudywing butterfly (Thorybes diversus).