Trifolium suffocatum L. (W and S Eur., N Afr., SW As. and Macaronesia) – A very rare but possibly overlooked alien, very locally more or less established, sometimes in abundance. A small population was discovered in 2015 on bare sand in a camping site in De Panne. In this locality it was obviously introduced unintentionally by tourists, along with numerous other Mediterranean weeds like Medicago litoralis, M. polymorpha, M. truncatula, Polycarpon tetraphyllum, Rostraria cristata and Trifolium tomentosum (Verloove 2016). In identical circumstances Trifolium suffocatum was also found in 2001 in Calais in northwestern France (Toussaint & al. 2008). Further investigations in 2016 in identical habitats yielded several additional populations in camping sites between De Panne and Koksijde (and even in an inland camping site in Gent). In some of the campings in coastal dunes Trifolium suffocatum occurs in more or less monospecific stands and must have been introduced some time ago already.
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Selected literature:
Muñoz Rodríguez A.F. (1995) Trifolium sect. Paramesus y sect. Trifolastrium en la Península Ibérica. Studia Botanica 14: 47-102. [available online at: http://rabida.uhu.es/dspace/handle/10272/7391]
Toussaint B., Mercier D., Bedouet F., Hendoux F. & Duhamel F. (2008) Flore de la Flandre française. C.B.N.B.B.L., Bailleul : 556 p.
Verloove F. (2006) Les campings du littoral belge: un lieu de prédilection inattendu pour l’introduction de plantes exotiques. Natura Mosana 69(1-2) (in press).