Red clover
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated April 2019.
Scientific name: Trifolium pratense L.
Common name(s): red clover, purple clover, wild clover, meadow trefoil
Link(s): USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- in flower, early June
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- flower detail
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- leaf detail
Description:
-perennial
-generally flowers June through September in ME
-high fruit and seed abundance
- spreads by seeds
-alternate leaves with three leaflets
Habitat:
-well drained loam soil
-wet to dry meadows
-open forests
agriculture:
-browsed by many animals
-high protein content
-grows rapidly
-Nitrogen fixation
Natural History:
-Native to Europe
Source(s):
Heinrich, B. 1976. Flowering phenologies: Bog, woodland, and disturbed habitats. Ecology. 57(5):890-899.
United States Department of Agriculture (2020). Trifolium pratense L. red clover, consercation plant characterisitics. https://plants.usda.gov/java/charProfile?symbol=TRPR2
United States Forest Service. Pink, Rose, Red, or Purple Flowered Forbes, Red Clover, Invasive plants and weeds of the national forests and grasslands in the southwestern region. https://www.fs.fed.us/r3/resources/health/invasives/pinkForbs/redClover.shtml