Trifolium tembense Fres.

Leguminosae

Synonyms

T. umbellatum A. Rich.; T. goetzenii Taub. ex Engl.; T. calocephalum var. parviforum Choiv.; T. subrotundum Harms in part, non Hochst. and Steud. ex A. Rich.; T. rueppellianum Robyns in part, non Fres.

Common names

Temben's clover.

Description

An annual, glabrous or subglabrous, erect or prostrate legume, sometimes rooting at the nodes, especially when growing in water. Stipules united with the petiole for most of its length, the free part abruptly contracted to a fine point. Petioles as short as 5 mm in the upper leaves, where they may be wholly fused with the stipule; up to 5 cm long in the lower leaves. Leaflet elliptic or obovate, cuneate at the base, acute rounded, truncate or slightly emarginate at the apex, up to 17 mm long by 10 mm wide, teeth strongly developed with subulate tips, eight to ten main nerves on each side at an angle of 40 to 60° to the midrib. Inflorescence hemispherical, 3- to 16-flowered, up to 23 mm across. Peduncles up to 7 cm long. Pedicels up to 3 mm long, more or less erect in fruit. Calyx sparingly pilose at the margins, tube about 2 mm long, broadly campanulate, strongly 11-nerved, teeth about 5 mm long, gradually narrowing from the base. Corolla purple. Standard about 9 mm long, abruptly narrowed above the middle into an oblong, truncate, downward-curved tip. Pods glabrous, 5 to 7 mm long by about 3 mm wide. Seeds brown, oval, flattened, 2 x 1.3 mm (Gillett, Polhill and Verdcourt, 1971).

Distribution

T. tembense is found naturally from Zaire and Rwanda to Ethiopia, in wet places, sometimes in shallow water, and in upland grasslands, forests, moorlands and alpine areas, from 2 000 to 3 800 m in elevation. It occasionally occurs by bodies of water as low as 1 400 m in elevation. Mean annual rainfall in these areas is at least 1 000 mm (Gillett, Polhill and Verdcourt, 1971).

General features

T. tembense often grows with other Trifolium spp., which it resembles. It can easily be mistaken for T. rueppellianum, especially when the flowers are young, and may also interbreed with it (Gillett, Polhill and Verdcourt, 1971).
T. tembense grows very fast from seed but is shorter lived (earlier maturing) than T. rueppellianum and was inferior at Kitale, Kenya (Strange, 1958). It is rather unpalatable until very mature. A seeding rate of 5 to 6 kg./ha is recommended ("Notes on Kenya agriculture", 1959).
T. tembense is one of the numerous African Trifolium species that has shown some promise for domestication and continues to be tested from time to time.

Links for the genus:

• The true clovers: Exploration, preservation, evaluation and enhancement
• Insect pollination of clover species: Chapter 3 of the Virtual Beekeeping Book
• Cover crops: Rich information with links to species, references and photographs