Rare clover found cracking through parking lot asphalt
iNaturalist: aster1312
Urban Ecology
Cracks in the asphalt you walk over every day can hide plants tough enough to split pavement, and spotting them before a repaving crew arrives might be the only thing standing between a rare species and extinction at that site.
Someone walking through a shopping center parking lot noticed a small, fuzzy-leaved clover growing straight up through a crack in the solid asphalt. Since the lot was about to get repaved, they dug it up and moved it somewhere safe instead of letting it get paved over. It's a small rescue, but it shows how sharp-eyed plant lovers can save individual plants that would otherwise just get destroyed.
Key Findings
Woolly clover (Trifolium tomentosum) was found growing directly through solid asphalt at a Scotts Valley, CA shopping center
The plant was manually transplanted to prevent destruction from an upcoming repaving project
Observation logged via iNaturalist, adding a documented occurrence record for this species in coastal California
chevron_right Technical Summary
A citizen scientist spotted a rare woolly clover pushing up through solid asphalt in a Scotts Valley, California parking lot, then rescued it by transplanting it before the lot got repaved.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
woolly clover (Trifolium tomentosum) observed in Mt Hermon Rd (King's Village Shopping Ctr), Scotts Valley, CA 95066, USA
Found growing in rock-solid asphalt. Now transplanted to avoid imminent paving over .
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
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Trifolium tomentosum, the woolly clover, is a species of annual herb in the family Fabaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and compound, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 8.9 cm.