Description
The genus Trifolium, which consists of about 230 species of annual and perennial legumes, has been divided into eight taxonomic sections. Approximately 50 species are native to western North American inter-mountain regions and the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Prior to this research, about 30 of the Trifolium species from western North America were not represented in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). Three germplasm collection expeditions in 1994 and 1995 collected about 140 accessions encompassing at least 44 species, including at least 25 species not previously available in the NPGS. Of these, nine were listed as potentially threatened or endangered. Plants of some perennial species exhibited slow and limited seedling growth in the greenhouse before entering into a period of senescence. All annual species except T. fucatum (cross-pollinated) were self fertilized, whereas all perennials which have flowered appear to be cross pollinated. In situ conservation appears to be feasible for a number of these perennial species.
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Trifolium Species Germplasm from Western North America
The genus Trifolium, which consists of about 230 species of annual and perennial legumes, has been divided into eight taxonomic sections. Approximately 50 species are native to western North American inter-mountain regions and the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Prior to this research, about 30 of the Trifolium species from western North America were not represented in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). Three germplasm collection expeditions in 1994 and 1995 collected about 140 accessions encompassing at least 44 species, including at least 25 species not previously available in the NPGS. Of these, nine were listed as potentially threatened or endangered. Plants of some perennial species exhibited slow and limited seedling growth in the greenhouse before entering into a period of senescence. All annual species except T. fucatum (cross-pollinated) were self fertilized, whereas all perennials which have flowered appear to be cross pollinated. In situ conservation appears to be feasible for a number of these perennial species.
