Rabbitfoot Clover

Description: Rabbitfoot clover (Chinese:兔足三叶草) is a flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe and western Asia. It is a small erect herbaceous annual, or sometimes biennial plant, growing to 10–40 cm tall. Like all clovers, it has leaves divided into three sessile leaflets, which are slender, 1–2 cm long and 3–5 mm broad, and sometimes edged with small hairs and finely serrated. The leaves have a pair of stipules at the base, often tipped in red. The flowers are grouped in a dense inflorescence 2–3 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad; each flower is 4–5 mm long, rosy white in colour, and especially characterised by the many silky white hairs which tip the five sepals, which are much larger than the petals. These hairs, along with the more or less oblong form of the inflorescence, are the inspiration for the common name. Pollination is carried out by bees, or via autogamy, since the plant is hermaphroditic, and the flowering season is from mid-spring to late summer. The fruit is a small pod containing a single seed.

Locations in Campus: Lakeside, Dinky Bar

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