Trifolium repens
| Trifolium repens | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Trifolium repens (common name: white clover)
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[1].
Cultivation: 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[2] it is also a good bee plant[3].
A good companion plant in the lawn, tolerating trampling[4][3], but it dislikes growing with henbane or members of the buttercup family[4]. It grows well in an apple orchard, the trees will produce tastier fruit that stores better[5]. 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[5].
Polymorphic, there are many subspecies and varieties. Some varieties have also been selected for use in lawn mixes[6].
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[7]. Buttercups growing nearby depress the growth of the nitrogen bacteria by means of a root exudate[5].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Norwat south and east to N. Africa, north and western Asia.
Habitat: Grassland and lawns, preferring a calcareous clay soil[8][9].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb[10][11][6]. The young leaves are harvested before the plant comes into flower and are used in salads, soups etc[8]. They can also be used as a vegetable, cooked like spinach[8]. The leaves are best cooked[12].
Flowers and seed pods are dried, ground into powder and used as a flour or sprinkled on cooked foods such as boiled rice[6]. Very wholesome and nutritious[13]. The young flowers can also be used in salads[14][12][6].
The dried leaves impart a vanilla flavour to cakes etc[12].
Dried flowering heads are a tea substitute.
Medicinal: The plant is antirheumatic, antiscrophulatic, depurative, detergent and tonic[16]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of coughs, colds, fevers and leucorrhoea[17].
A tincture of the leaves is applied as an ointment to gout[16].
An infusion of the flowers has been used as an eyewash[17].
Usage: The plant makes a good green manure, it is useful for over-wintering, especially in a mixture with Lolium perenne[18]. Produces a good bulk. It is a host to 'clover rot' however, so should not be used too frequently[18]. It can be undersown with cereals or with tomatoes in a greenhouse (sow the seed before planting the tomatoes)[18]. Fairly deep rooting but not very fast growing[18].
A good fast ground-cover plant for a sunny position[18].
Pollinators: Bees
Notes: Ideal for naturalizing in the grass, along with the red clover, T. pratense.
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Known Hazards: This plant has been known to cause problems for grazing animals, though this has never happened in Britain[19]. The problem may be associated with the climate in which the plant is growing[19]. The species is polymorphic for cyanogenic glycosides[16]. Th
Links
References
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Carter, David. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan, 1982.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hatfield, Audrey. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd, 1974.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Allardice, Pamela. A-Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers, 1993.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Sweet, Muriel. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co, 1962.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 Woodward, L and P Burge. Green Manures. Elm Farm Research Centre, 1982.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Cooper, Marion. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. The Stationery Office, 1984.