Endangered Species
Running Buffalo Clover
Scientific Name: Trifolium stoloniferum

Description
Once thought to be instinct in WV, Running Buffalo Clover was found in the New River Gorge in 1983.  Since that time, 35 sites within WV have been documented in 11 counties, including Tucker and Randolph Counties. 

Running Buffalo Clover is a perennial species because it appears each spring at roughly the same time and dies off every year in late summer.  The plant is called running buffalo clover because it has stolons (runners) that extend from the base of erect stems.  The stolons often take root and expand smaller clumps into larger ones.  Another unique feature of the running buffalo clover is that the flower, which is white tinged with purple, appears on a stem that has two leaflets.  The leaves also do not bear the markings of other species of clover.  It is believed that the propagation of this species is somewhat dependent on disturbance and that with the loss of bison herds conditions did not exist in most areas to support the continued sustenance of running buffalo clover.             

Habitat
Running buffalo clover exists most often in areas of recent disturbance that have filtered sunlight. 

Threats
The greatest threat to this clover appears to be disturbance of the magnitude that it would completely destroy the habitat (such as road building, logging) and the slow maturation of habitat through succession.