Running Buffalo Clover
By; Brianna Shaffer
Habitat
Habitat - Running buffalo requires periodic disturbance and a somewhat open habitat to successfully flourish, but it cannot tolerate full-sun, full-shade, or severe disturbance.
Common name
Trifolium stoloniferum
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Fabales
Family
Fabaceae
Genus
Trifolium
Fun Facts
- Appearance - Running buffalo clover is a perennial species with leaves divided into three leaflets. It is called running buffalo clover because it produces runners (i.e., stolons) that extend from the base of erect stems and run along the surface of the ground.
- Running buffalo clover is found in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and West Virginia. It has been extirpated from Arkansas, Illinois, and Kansas.
- Running buffalo clover may have depended on bison to periodically disturb areas and create habitat, as well as to disperse its seeds. As bison were eliminated, vital habitat and a means of seed dispersal were lost.