Trifolium arvense L. var. perpusillum DC.
Trifolium arvense L.
Rabbit-foot clover, rabbitfoot clover, hares-foot clover, stone clover, oldfield clover
Rabbit-foot clover is native to Europe and western Asia. Its soft, fuzzy flowerheads, the reason for its common names, are unlike those of other clovers.
Plants: 4–16″ (10–40 cm) tall.
Leaves: Alternate and trifoliate: in groups of 3. Leaflets are narrow, ⅜–½ ⨉ 1/16–3/16″ (1–1.5 cm ⨉ 3–5 mm), sometimes with small hairs and fine serrations. They have blunt or rounded tips, and their edges have hairs.
Flowers: Flowerheads are soft, densely fuzzy, composed of silken hairs, oval-shaped or cylindrical, and ⅜–1 ⨉ ⅜–½″ (1–3 ⨉ 1–1.5 cm). They appear pale pink from a distance; up close, white hairs are tinged with pink. Each flower has 10 stamens. Flowers appear from late spring to early fall.
Fruits: Flowerheads develop tiny brown pods 1/32″ (1.5 mm) long, each with barbed spines and a single seed.
Habitats: Dry sandy soils at field edges, wastelands, roadsides, sand dunes.
Online References:
Trifolium arvense L. var. arvense
Trifolium arvense L. var. perpusillum DC.
Trifolium arvense L. var. perpusillum DC.
7/9/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
7/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, 
8/17/2020 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 8.9 cm) 
7/9/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts 
8/1/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm) 
8/6/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 7″ (22 × 17 cm) 
8/8/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) 
8/20/2025 · Peaks Island, Maine · ≈ 10 × 12″ (25 × 31 cm) 
7/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, 
Nashoba Conservation Land on Mt. Lebanon Rd · 7/16/2009 · Mt. Lebanon St, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (29 × 19 cm) 
7/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Fabales | Legumes (pea and bean families) |
| Family | Fabaceae | Legume family (peas and beans) |
| Genus | Trifolium | “Three-leaved,” for the 3-leaf clusters |
| Species | arvense | Of the fields |
Trifolium arvense description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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