Trifolium alpinum L. (Alpin clover)

Trifolium alpinum L. – (Alpin clover)

Vivacious grass of the Pea family -Papilionaceae- of up to 20 cm. Short stems, springing from a crawling rhizome. Trifoliate leaves, gathered at the base of the stem, with sharp ending leaflets and two narrow and sharp stipules. Flowers about 2 cm wide, very aromatic, located at the end of a floral peduncle of about 10 cm tall; pink to purple or garnet, sometimes cream or white. They usually grow upwards when young, but hanging as they mature. It flourishes in summer (July and August) in the mountainous areas starting from the 1500 m, almost reaching 3000 m, being very characteristic in Europe mountains from the Alps and Pyrenees until the Carpathian mountains.