| Description | Red Clover (trifoliate repens) is a common herbaceous plant found in grass, roadsides, wood edges, and fields. Red clover's flowers and leaves are edible. |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | All Plants, Wild Flowers |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | wet to dry |
| Soil & Site | average |
| Flowers | Clusters of small red-pink-colored tubular flowers form a rounded head that blooms from spring to fall. The Red Clover is heavily pollinated by Bumble Bees. They are large enough to open up the tubes and drink the sweet nectar, picking up some pollen along the way. The only other pollinator is the butterfly. Their long tongues can reach down into the flower. |
| Leaves | Trifoliate 3-lobed compound leaves, finely toothed, have V-shaped white markings. |
| Roots | Roots have nodules in which rhizobia bacteria live. These bacteria take nitrogen out of the air and store it in the roots. After the plant dies the nitrogen is added to the soil. Widely used as a green manure crop. |
| Dimensions | 6"-24" |
| Propagation | seeds |
| Native Site | Europe |
| Misc Facts | Often used to produce fodder, a cover crop, hay, pasture and food for wildlife plots. Imported to the USA from Europe. Trifolium pratense literally means "three leaves of the meadows". |
| Author's Notes | We use to always pull the small flowers from the cluster and suck on the tips to get the sweet taste of the flowers nectar. |
| Notes & Reference | #14-Hedge maids and Fairy Candles (Jack Sanders), #19-Common Weeds ( USDA Agricultural Research Service), #41-Wildflowers of Wisconsin (Stan Tekiela) |
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