Trifolium microcephalumPursh

smallhead clover

WFO wfo-0000174323 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Trifolium microcephalum, photographed by Trevor Van Loon
fig. a Trevor Van Loon, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-15 / obs. 198536570
Trifolium microcephalum, photographed by James H. Thomas
fig. b James H. Thomas, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196666094
Trifolium microcephalum, photographed by Trevor Van Loon
fig. c Trevor Van Loon, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 190776848
Trifolium microcephalum, photographed by Ken-ichi Ueda
fig. d Ken-ichi Ueda, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 191252714
Trifolium microcephalum, photographed by Arvel Hernandez
fig. e Arvel Hernandez, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 188673070
Trifolium microcephalum, photographed by Mike Palmer
fig. f Mike Palmer, CC0 1.0 / obs. 134668802
Trifolium microcephalum, photographed by Ellyne Geurts
fig. g Ellyne Geurts, CC0 1.0 / obs. 143122600
Trifolium microcephalum, photographed by Randal
fig. h Randal, CC0 1.0 / obs. 127612158

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 11 botanical countries

Regions where Trifolium microcephalum is native: Alaska, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Mexican Pacific Is., Mexico Northwest, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington AlaskaArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaIdahoMexico NorthwestMontanaNevadaOregonWashington
Native distribution of Trifolium microcephalum, 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
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Idaho IDA
Mexican Pacific Is. MXI
Mexico Northwest MXN
Montana MNT
Nevada NEV
Oregon ORE
Washington WAS

Not drawn on the map: Mexican Pacific Is.. 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 6 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.

  • Lojaconoa microcephala (Pursh) Bobrov
  • Trifolium microcephalum f. velutinum McDermott
  • Trifolium microcephalum var. bipedale Hook.
  • Trifolium microcephalum var. glabrum Hook.
  • Trifolium microcephalum var. lemmonii Lojac.
  • Trifolium multiflorum Greene

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.