Large hop clover

Trifolium aureum, large hop clover or golden clover, is an annual or biennial herb in the family Fabaceae native to Europe and western Asia and widely naturalized as a roadside and pasture plant in North America. Plants are erect to ascending, 15-40 cm tall, with branching reddish-tinged stems that are nearly glabrous below and finely pubescent above. Leaves are trifoliate with three sessile, obovate to oblanceolate leaflets 10-25 mm long, the terminal leaflet attached at the same point as the laterals (distinguishing it from the somewhat similar T. campestre, in which the terminal leaflet is stalked). Inflorescences are dense ovoid to subglobose heads 12-18 mm long, composed of 30-70 small bright golden-yellow pea-flowers that turn pale brown and persist on the plant after fading, giving the head a hop-cone appearance. Flowering occurs from June to September. Fruits are tiny one- or two-seeded legumes enclosed within the dry corollas. The species inhabits dry meadows, sandy fields, roadside verges, forest clearings, and disturbed open ground on neutral to slightly acid soils.