This is quite a hairy plant species, only growing to about 25cm tall, that bears really tiny white (to pale pink) peaflowers (4-7mm long) in sessile (stalkless) clusters, mainly in the leaf axils. The trefoil leaves (4-10mm long) are hairy on both sides with veins that curve backwards. Rough Clover is found growing in areas of sparse vegetation, preferring open, sandy ground and coastal habitats. It flowers from May to July and is extremely rare, being found mainly in a few coastal locations in Counties Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Wexford. It is a native, annual species that belongs to the Fabaceae or Pea family.
I saw this species in Rostonstown in County Wexford when it was pointed out to me on a walk by the BSBI’s Vice-county Recorder for Waterford and Wexford, Paul Green.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
