BUFFALO CLOVERS IN KENTUCKY (TRIFOLIUM STOLONIFER UM AND T. REFLEX UM): HISTORICAL RECORDS, PRESETTLEMENT ENVIRONMENT, REDISCOVERY, ENDANGERED STATUS, CULTIVATION AND CHROMOSOME NUMBER

Currently, Kentucky's two native Trifolium species, T. sioloniferum and T. reflexum, are each known from only one locality. Historical records indicate that T. stoloniferum was widespread on moist, fertile soils in the Bluegrass Region, and that T. reflexum occurred on drier or less fertile soils in the fomer Big Barrens Region and the Shawnee Hills. Many old records are from areas with open woodland or grass land disturbed by Indians and buffalo (Bison), and recent records are mostly from roadsides or trails through woods. The decline of these species may be attributed to changes in disturbance and consumer patterns since settlement. In cultivation, T. stoloniferum is a vigorous perennial, easily propagated from stolons, but it requires moist, fertile soil, and is sensitive to competition and herbivory. Trifolium reflexum grows more slowly and is typically biennial. The chromosome number of T. solonife rum, reported here for the first time, is the same as other eastern North American species (2n — 16).