2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Narrow-leaved clover (Latin Trifolium angustifolium) - a herbaceous annual plant, which is one of the species of the genus Clover (Latin Trifolium), reckoned to the Legumes family (Latin Fabaceae). The appearance of the plant stands out somewhat among other species of the genus, replacing the traditional form of an inflorescence in the form of a head of small flowers with a spike-shaped inflorescence, and turning the leaves from oval into lanceolate. At first glance, such a plant is not even associated with Clover. However, inquisitive botanists saw in him a worthy representative of the Clover genus, which did not add to the popularity of the plant among people. Narrow-leaved Clover has to live in the wild, taking care of the continuation of the species' life. Only rare fans of the plant decorate their flower gardens with narrow-leaved clover, wondering and admiring its features.
What's in your name
Although the shape of the leaves of narrow-leaved clover has changed, their tradition of uniting three leaves on one petiole has remained the same, and therefore fully justifies the first word of the plant's name "Trifolium", meaning "Shamrock".
The specific epithet "angustifolium" is translated from Latin into Russian by the word "narrow leaf", focusing people's attention on the shape of leaves, which are unusual for plants of the Clover genus, narrow, long, with a sharp nose.
Description
To be able to survive in a competitive wilderness, narrow-leaved clover acquired a bristly-hairy thickened stem. A single stem boldly rushes to the heavens, maintaining a straight posture, and only occasionally becomes ascending at the base, that is, partially extending parallel to the surface of the earth, in order to then rush straight up again.
Stipules, petioles, and leaves have acquired protective bristles. The linear-lanceolate form of membranous stipules, when they are in the cleft part, becomes linear-subulate, when they break free. The frightening linear subulate shape of the stipules is reinforced with bristly cilia located along their edge.
The petioles are also armed with bristles, which change their length depending on the position on the stem: the higher the petiole is located on the stem, the shorter it is. Linear-lanceolate, or simply linear leaves, reaching a length of eight centimeters, protected the underside of the leaf plate with pressed bristles.
The spike-shaped head of the inflorescence in splendid isolation sits on a bristly stalk, growing in length from three to ten centimeters and a width of one and a half to two and a half centimeters. The inflorescence is formed by numerous miniature flowers, the corolla of which is colored purple or pink. The flower corolla with stamens and ovary is reliably protected by a tubular bristly calyx formed by triangular-subulate sepals with pointed ends accrete to one third of their length. The sepal teeth almost hide the bright corolla of the flower, making the inflorescence more similar to a newborn pine twig than to the capitate inflorescence of Clover, distinguishing this species from the friendly rows of plants of the genus.
The June bloom, pollinated by insects, already in July bears fruits - filmy single-seeded beans, traditional for plants of the Legume family. Nature also protected the fruit of narrow-leaved clover, putting a cartilaginous lid on its top.
Such is the "bristly" representative of the genus Clover, whose plants are more often associated with the rounded and soft forms of the aerial parts.
Free creation of nature
Man has not yet tamed the free representative of the Clover clan, who has chosen the mountain slopes, forest edges and shrubs of Europe and the African north. Perhaps this is due to the bristly appearance of the plant. Although the quality characteristics of narrow-leaved clover are probably not too different from other types of clover, which can heal the soil, share nectar with bees and decorate the planet with their bright inflorescences.
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