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Kummerowia striata
Japanese Clover
Not native to Florida
A frequent plant of disturbed sites throughout the panhandle and much of the north and central peninsula, plus Miami-Dade County. Native to Japan and China, it now ranges throughout the southeastern United States, west into New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas, north into Iowa, Illinois through New York and Massachusetts.
This member of the pea (Fabaceae) family has alternate, trifoliate leaves with entire leaflets and papilionaceous (pea-shaped or butterfly-like) flowers. Stems are covered with short downward-facing hairs. The plants are usually not over 40cm (16 in.) tall and are freely branching. Flowers are solitary in the leaf axils. The banner petal is mostly rose-pink. The wing petals are white and the keel is white at the base and reddish-pink tipped. The fruit has one segment containing one seed.
The plants with fruit photographed here were seen in Hamilton County while kayaking the Suwannee River. Seeds were collected and grown and those plants and flowers were photographed in the studio.
Kummerowia striata is a member of the Fabaceae - Pea family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: May 27, 2020
