Trifolium mediumL.

zigzag clover

WFO wfo-0000213979 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Trifolium medium, photographed by Tatiana Strus
fig. a Tatiana Strus, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-11 / obs. 205952432
Trifolium medium, photographed by alcesevropsky
fig. b alcesevropsky, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 204444733
Trifolium medium, photographed by Yurii Basov
fig. c Yurii Basov, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203178247
Trifolium medium, photographed by Марина Садыкова
fig. d Марина Садыкова, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203251442
Trifolium medium, photographed by Yurii Basov
fig. e Yurii Basov, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 202705595
Trifolium medium, photographed by Zoltán Stekkelpak
fig. f Zoltán Stekkelpak, CC0 1.0 / obs. 202398817
Trifolium medium, photographed by vetch10
fig. g vetch10, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 201589865
Trifolium medium, photographed by Марина Садыкова
fig. h Марина Садыкова, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 201355476

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 38 botanical countries

Regions where Trifolium medium is native: Iran, Kazakhstan, North Caucasus, Transcaucasus, West Siberia, Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Krym, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine IranKazakhstanNorth CaucasusTranscaucasusWest SiberiaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIrelandItalyKrymNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine
Native distribution of Trifolium medium, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Iran IRN ASIA-TEMPERATE
Kazakhstan KAZ
North Caucasus NCS
Transcaucasus TCS
West Siberia WSB

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 31 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Lagopus flexuosus Bernh.
  • Trifolium affine Lej. ex Ser.
  • Trifolium alpestre Crantz
  • Trifolium aucheri Boiss.
  • Trifolium flexicaule Vill.
  • Trifolium flexuosum Jacq.
  • Trifolium haynaldianum Pant.
  • Trifolium haynaldii Meynh.
  • Trifolium medium f. haynaldii (Meynh.) Soó
  • Trifolium medium f. pedunculosum (Ser.) C.Vicioso
  • Trifolium medium f. speciosissimum (Schur) Soó
  • Trifolium medium subsp. eriocalycinum (Hausskn.) Ponert
  • Trifolium medium subsp. flexuosum (Jacq.) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Trifolium medium subsp. medium
  • Trifolium medium subsp. pendunculosum Ser.
  • Trifolium medium subsp. skorpili Velen.
  • Trifolium medium subsp. skorpilii Velen.
  • Trifolium medium var. angustifolium Wimm. & Grab.
  • Trifolium medium var. angustium Wahlenb.
  • Trifolium medium var. angustius Wahlenb.
  • Trifolium medium var. brachycalycinum Rouy
  • Trifolium medium var. eriocalycinum Hausskn.
  • Trifolium medium var. flexuosum (Jacq.) C.Vicioso
  • Trifolium medium var. majus Boiss.

and 7 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.