Translate this page:
Summary
Bloom Color: White. Main Bloom Time: Mid summer, Mid fall, Mid spring. Form: Prostrate.
Physical Characteristics
Trifolium_repens is an evergreen Perennial growing to 0.1 m (0ft 4in) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a medium rate.
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to September, and the seeds ripen from July to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees.
It can fix Nitrogen.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
UK Hardiness Map
US Hardiness Map
Synonyms
Trifolium repens L. var. atropurpureum
Plant Habitats
Edible Uses
Leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb[13, 94, 183]. The young leaves are harvested before the plant comes into flower and are used in salads, soups etc[9]. They can also be used as a vegetable, cooked like spinach[9]. The leaves are best cooked[172]. Flowers and seed pods are dried, ground into powder and used as a flour or sprinkled on cooked foods such as boiled rice[183]. Very wholesome and nutritious[115]. The young flowers can also be used in salads[144, 172, 183]. Root - cooked[172, 177]. The dried leaves impart a vanilla flavour to cakes etc[172]. Dried flowering heads are a tea substitute.
References More on Edible Uses
Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
The plant is antirheumatic, antiscrophulatic, depurative, detergent and tonic[218]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of coughs, colds, fevers and leucorrhoea[257]. A tincture of the leaves is applied as an ointment to gout[218]. An infusion of the flowers has been used as an eyewash[257].
References More on Medicinal Uses
The Bookshop: Edible Plant Books
Our Latest books on Perennial Plants For Food Forests and Permaculture Gardens in paperback or digital formats.
Edible Tropical Plants
Food Forest Plants for Hotter Conditions: 250+ Plants For Tropical Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.
More
Edible Temperate Plants
Plants for Your Food Forest: 500 Plants for Temperate Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.
More
More Books
PFAF have eight books available in paperback and digital formats. Browse the shop for more information.
Shop Now
Other Uses
The plant makes a good green manure, it is useful for over-wintering, especially in a mixture with Lolium perenne[87]. Produces a good bulk. It is a host to 'clover rot' however, so should not be used too frequently[87]. It can be undersown with cereals or with tomatoes in a greenhouse (sow the seed before planting the tomatoes)[87]. Fairly deep rooting but not very fast growing[87]. A good fast ground-cover plant for a sunny position[87]. Nectary. A dynamic accumulator gathering minerals or nutrients from the soil and storing them in a more bioavailable form - used as fertilizer or to improve mulch.
Special Uses
References More on Other Uses
Cultivation details
Landscape Uses: Ground cover. Succeeds in a moist, well-drained circum-neutral soil in full sun, preferring a sweet calcareous clay soil. Succeeds in poor soils. A very important food plant for the caterpillars of many butterfly and moth species[30] it is also a good bee plant[54]. A good companion plant in the lawn, tolerating trampling[18, 54], but it dislikes growing with henbane or members of the buttercup family[18]. It grows well in an apple orchard, the trees will produce tastier fruit that stores better[201]. It should not be grown with camellias or gooseberries because it harbours a mite that can cause fruit drop in the gooseberries and premature budding in the camellias[201]. Polymorphic, there are many subspecies and varieties. Some varieties have also been selected for use in lawn mixes[183]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200]. Buttercups growing nearby depress the growth of the nitrogen bacteria by means of a root exudate[201]. Special Features:Not North American native, Invasive. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 8 through 1. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures.
Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat.
The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C).
At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days).
For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a clumper with limited spread [1-2]. The root pattern is stoloniferous rooting from creeping stems above the ground [1-2].
References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information
Temperature Converter
Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:
Fahrenheit:
The PFAF Bookshop
Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants, Edible Perennials, Edible Trees,Edible Shrubs, Woodland Gardening, and Temperate Food Forest Plants. Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical).
Shop Now
Plant Propagation
Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in situ. If the seed is in short supply it might be better to sow it in pots in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in late spring. Division in spring[238].
Other Names
If available other names are mentioned here
Native Range
TEMPERATE ASIA: Altay, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Buryatia, Checheno-Ingushetia, Chelyabinsk, Cyprus, Dagestan, Georgia, Gorno-Altay, Hakasija, Hanty-Mansijskij avtonomnyj okrug, Iran, Iraq, Irkutsk, Israel, Jordan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karacaevo-Cerkesskaja Respublika,
Kazakhstan, Kemerovskaja oblast, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Kurganskaja oblast, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, North Ossetia, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Respublika, Respublika, Russian Federation, Russian Federation, Stavropol, Sverdlovsk, Syria, Tajikistan, Tomsk, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Tyumen, Tyva, Ust Orda Buryat, Uzbekistan,Afghanistan. TROPICAL ASIA: Pakistan, EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, Faroe Islands, United Kingdom (U.K.), Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic and Slovakia),
Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Russian Federation, Baškortostan, Respublika, Cuvašskaja Respublika, Kalmykija, Respublika, Karelia, Komi, Marij Èl, Respublika, Mordovija, Respublika, Tatarstan, Udmurtia,
Arkhangelsk, Neneckij avtonomnyj okrug, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kalužskaja oblast, Kirov, Kostroma, Kursk, Leningradskaja oblast, Lipeckaja oblast, Moscow, Murmansk, Novgorod, Orel, Orenburg, Penza, Perm, Pskovskaja oblast, Rostov, Ryazan, Saratov, Smolensk, Tambov, Tula, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir, Volgogradskaja oblast, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl, Ukraine (incl. Krym), Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Romania, Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal, AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.
Weed Potential
Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section.
Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :
Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.
Expert comment
Author
L.
Botanical References
17200
Links / References
For a list of references used on this page please go here
Readers comment