Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Trifolium resupinatum
Common name
Shaftal Clover, Reversed Trefoil
Family
Fabaceae
Where found
Escape from cultivation. Not common. Widespread, but not in Kosciuszko National Park. Most records do not specify subspecies.
var. majus: 2 records, one in Canberra, one from west of Delegate
var. resupinatum: Canberra. One record at Mogo.
Notes
Introduced annual herb to 0.8 m tall or prostrate. Spiny teeth on the leaf margins and calyx lobes. Calyx lobes erect or spreading at the seeding stage. Stems hairless or almost hairless. Leaves alternating along the stems, compound, with 3 leaflets, each 0.5-5 cm long, 3-21 mm wide, hairless or becoming hairless, margins toothed, the teeth with spiny points, tips blunt, stipules membranous, distinctly veined. Flowers pink to purple, upside down, 3–8 mm long, pea-shaped, with 5 petals, 2 joined together to form the keel. Petals falling early. Flowers in many-flowered spherical clusters 10–15 mm long, 5–15 mm wide. Calyces surrounding the individual pods at the seeding stage.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Trifolium~resupinatum (accessed 3 May 2021)
Varieties not recognised in NSW.
var. majus: Stems to 80 cm long and 5 mm thick, hollow; leaflets often 30 mm or more long; flowering heads dense, mostly more than 10 mm wide; flowers 6–8 mm long.
var. resupinatum: Stems mostly less than 40 cm long and less than 3 mm thick, solid; leaflets less than 20 mm long; flowering heads loose, mostly less than 10 mm wide; flowers 3–5 mm long.
Key to varieties in VICFLORA: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/key/2379 (accessed 3 May 2021)
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