Trifolium subterraneum

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Family Fabaceae

Taxonomy: Trifolium subterraneum L.

Synonyms: 7 (APC 2026-07-30)

Trifolium subterraneum L. subsp. subterraneum (nomenclatural synonym)
Trifolium subterraneum L. var. subterraneum (nomenclatural synonym)
Trifolium subterraneum subsp. brachycalycinum Katzn. & F.H.W.Morley (taxonomic synonym)
Trifolium subterraneum subsp. yanninicum Katzn. & F.H.W.Morley (taxonomic synonym)
Trifolium subterraneum var. brachycalycinum Katzn. & F.H.W.Morley (taxonomic synonym)
Trifolium subterraneum var. brachycladum Gibelli & Belli (taxonomic synonym)
Trifolium subterraneum var. flagelliforme Guss. (taxonomic synonym)

Distribution (APC): WA (naturalised), SA (naturalised), Qld (naturalised), NSW (naturalised), LHI (naturalised), NI (naturalised), ACT (naturalised), Vic (naturalised), Tas (naturalised)

Profiles: APC, Flora of Australia, ALA, iNaturalist, NSW Flora, SA eFlora, Vic Flora, Florabase, ATRP

Traits

Top source datasets: Burrows_2008_2 (5), Burrows_2020 (5), Cheal_2017 (5), Dwyer_2017 (5), Mokany_2008 (76), Munroe_2019 (1), NHNSW_2014_2 (2), NHNSW_2022 (4), NHNSW_2023 (10), OReillyNugent_2018 (1), RBGV_2022 (4), RBGV_2023 (12), SAH_2022 (4), SAH_2023 (10), Stephens_2021 (3), Tsakalos_2020 (17), WAH_2022_1 (3), WAH_2022_2 (4), WAH_2023_2 (1), Wenk_2022 (2), Wenk_2023 (1). See below for a full list of sources.
Summary: AusTraits contains 56 traits from 175 records in 21 datasets.

Traits by category (click to expand). For categorical traits, the values are listed. For numerical traits, the mean and range are shown.

fire response

resprouting_capacity (categorical): fire_killed (2) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020]
post_fire_recruitment (categorical): post_fire_recruitment (1) [sources: Cheal_2017]
fire_time_from_fire_to_flowering (numerical): 18 mo (18-18 mo) [sources: Burrows_2020]

flower morphology

flower_colour (categorical): blue_purple (1); pink (1); white_cream (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]

fruit morphology

fruit_length (numerical): 3 mm (3-3 mm) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
fruit_type (categorical): legume (3) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
fruit_fleshiness (categorical): dry (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]

leaf morphology

leaf_area (numerical): 297.19 mm2 (243.89-326.87 mm2) [sources: Mokany_2008]
leaf_length (numerical): 19.8 mm (4-47 mm) [sources: Mokany_2008; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
leaf_width (numerical): 17.97 mm (8-26 mm) [sources: Mokany_2008; NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_dry_mass (numerical): 10.56 mg (9.4-11.1 mg) [sources: Mokany_2008]
leaf_mass_per_area (numerical): 32.7 g/m2 (24.13-38.54 g/m2) [sources: Dwyer_2017; Mokany_2008]
leaf_mass_fraction (numerical): 0.5 g/g (0.44-0.57 g/g) [sources: Mokany_2008]
leaf_dry_matter_content (numerical): 0.22 g/g (0.18-0.24 g/g) [sources: Mokany_2008]
leaf_shape (categorical): obcordate (2); obovate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023]
leaf_margin (categorical): entire (1); toothed (1); toothed_dentate (2) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_compoundness (categorical): compound (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_lamina_posture (categorical): flat (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_glaucousness (categorical): not_glaucous (2) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_hairs_adult_leaves (categorical): hairy (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
leaf_phyllotaxis (categorical): alternate (1) [sources: NHNSW_2014_2]
leaf_inclination_angle (numerical): 64 deg (59-74 deg) [sources: Mokany_2008]
plant_photosynthetic_organ (categorical): leaf (4) [sources: NHNSW_2023; RBGV_2023; SAH_2023; Tsakalos_2020]

life history

photosynthetic_pathway (categorical): c3 (3) [sources: Mokany_2008; Munroe_2019; Tsakalos_2020]
plant_growth_form (categorical): herb (6) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
life_form (categorical): therophyte (1) [sources: Mokany_2008]
life_history (categorical): annual (8) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020; NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2023]
woodiness_detailed (categorical): herbaceous (7) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_1; WAH_2022_2; Wenk_2022]
stem_growth_habit (categorical): decumbent (1); prostrate (5); spreading (1) [sources: NHNSW_2022; RBGV_2022; SAH_2022; Tsakalos_2020; WAH_2022_2]
nitrogen_fixing (categorical): nitrogen_fixer (2) [sources: Mokany_2008; Tsakalos_2020]
root_structure (categorical): arbuscular_mycorrhizal (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
parasitic (categorical): not_parasitic (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]
reproductive_maturity (numerical): 1.5 a (1.5-1.5 a) [sources: Burrows_2020]
flowering_time (categorical): nnnnnnnyyyyn (2); nnnnyyyyyynn (1); ynnnnnnnyyyy (1) [sources: Stephens_2021; Tsakalos_2020]
seedbank_location (categorical): soil_seedbank (2) [sources: Burrows_2008_2; Burrows_2020]
seedbank_longevity_class (categorical): long_persistent (1) [sources: Cheal_2017]
bud_bank_location (categorical): none (1) [sources: Burrows_2008_2]

seed morphology

seed_dry_mass (numerical): 5.67 mg (5.67-5.67 mg) [sources: Dwyer_2017]
seed_length (numerical): 3 mm (2.5-3.5 mm) [sources: RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]
seed_shape (categorical): ovoid (2) [sources: RBGV_2023; SAH_2023]

whole plant morphology

plant_height (numerical): 0.35 m (0.35-0.35 m) [sources: WAH_2023_2]
plant_physical_defence_structures (categorical): absent (1) [sources: Tsakalos_2020]

Sources

dataset_id	n_traits	n_records	reference
Mokany_2008	21	76	K. Mokany and J. Ash. “Are traits measured on pot grown plants representative of those in natural communities?”. Journal of Vegetation Science 19 (2008), pp. 119-126. doi: 10.3170/2007-8-18340.
Tsakalos_2020	16	17	J. L. Tsakalos, M. Renton, F. Riviera, E. J. Veneklaas, M. P. Dobrowolski, and L. Mucina. “Trait-based formal definition of plant functional types and functional communities in the multi-species and multi-traits context”. Ecological Complexity 40 (2019), p. 100787. doi: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2019.100787.
RBGV_2023	10	12	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2023	8	10	N. H. of New South Wales. The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Version 2.0.. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2023. url: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
SAH_2023	8	10	S. H. of South Australia. eFlora of SA, Electronic Flora of South Australia. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/.
Burrows_2008_2	5	5	N. D. Burrows, G. Wardell-Johnson, and B. Ward. “Post-fire juvenile period of plants in south-west Australia forests and implications for fire management”. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 91 (2008), pp. 163-174. ISSN: 0035922X. url: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19156 (visited on 03/27/2025).
Burrows_2020	5	5	N. Burrows. Data from 'Plant Ecological Attributes' theme, NatureMap, DBCA, WA. 2020.
Cheal_2017	5	5	D. Cheal. Growth stages and tolerable fire intervals for Victoria's native vegetation data sets. Fire and adaptive management, report no. 84. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment Melbourne, 2010.
Dwyer_2017	3	5	J. M. Dwyer and D. C. Laughlin. “Constraints on trait combinations explain climatic drivers of biodiversity: The importance of trait covariance in community assembly”. Ecology Letters 20.7 (2017), pp. 872-882. doi: 10.1111/ele.12781.
NHNSW_2022	4	4	N. H. of New South Wales. The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Version 2.0.. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
RBGV_2022	4	4	VicFlora. Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/.
SAH_2022	4	4	S. H. of South Australia. eFlora of SA, Electronic Flora of South Australia. accessed on 6 May, 2022.. 2022. url: http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/.
WAH_2022_2	4	4	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Stephens_2021	1	3	R. Stephens. “Unpublished data: Flowering time data from TERN plots, Macquarie University.”. 2021.
WAH_2022_1	3	3	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2022. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
NHNSW_2014_2	2	2	Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. PLantNET: NSW flora online. 2014. url: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/.
Wenk_2022	2	2	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant growth forms dataset”. 2022.
Munroe_2019	1	1	S. E. M. Munroe, F. A. McInerney, J. Andrae, N. Welti, G. R. Guerin, E. Leitch, T. Hall, S. Szarvas, R. Atkins, S. Caddy-Retalic, and B. Sparrow. “The Photosynthetic Pathways of Plant Species Surveyed in Australia's National Terrestrial Monitoring Network”. Scientific Data 8 (2021), p. 97. doi: 10.1038/s41597-021-00877-z.
OReillyNugent_2018	1	1	A. O'Reilly-Nugent, E. Wandrag, C. Catford, B. Gruber, D. Driscoll, and R. Duncan. “Measuring competitive impact: Joint-species modelling of invaded plant communities”. Journal of Ecology 108 (2018), pp. 449-459.
WAH_2023_2	1	1	Western Australian Herbarium. Florabase—the Western Australian Flora.. accessed on 14 September, 2022.. 2023. url: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/.
Wenk_2023	1	1	E. Wenk. “Unpublished data: Australian plant life history dataset, University of New South Wales, Sydney”. 2023.