Hollyleaf Clover Trifolium gymnocarpon Pea family (Fabaceae)
Trifolium gymnocarpon spreads four or five inches along the ground but grows no more than an inch or two tall. It is common to find many plants near each other. Leaves probably first attract attention, for the flowers blend in with the soils that they rest on. Thomas Nuttall first collected this plant on the "dry hills of the Rocky Mountain range, near the sources of the Sweetwater of the Platte" in 1834 and named the plant in 1838.
to short caulescent, 2-5" tall, from a (woody base of non-woody ) and , stems mainly obscured by shingled and leaf bases. from 1/2 to 3" long. 3-5, from near the base, hairy beneath, to hairy above, flat or folded. Flowerheads hemispheric, commonly 1/2" wide, and , on very short . Flowers 6-15, lower ones in age, petals pink to white to lavender or purple, slightly more than 1/3" long. Pods 1/6 to 1/3" long and half as wide.
