Trifolium pratense

Author:Brenda Kay Rone

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Common Name: (Taylor & Quesenberry, 1996)

Higher Taxa: (Takhtajan, 1997)

Identification:

The following is a description of T.pratense as described by Gillet: "Erect to decumbent short-lived perennial, often cultivated as an annual, winter-annual, or biennial. Stems pilose to glabrous, 2 to 6 dm tall. Lower leaves long-petioled, the petioles becoming shorter upwards, the upper leaves nearly sessile. Stipules fused to the petiole much of their length, ovate-lanceolate, pale with dark venation, the free part broadly triangular, mucronate with a setaceous tip. Leaflets ovate, elliptic to cuneate-obovate, 1.5 to 4.0 cm long, to 1.5cm wide, subtended by the laterally expanded stipules of the upper pair of leaves, globose to ovoid, 1.2 to 3 cm ascending, remaining so. Calyx tube tubular-campanulate, 10-nerved, patulous, rarely glabrouos, with a ring of hairs in the open orifice; teeth filiform, sparsely hairy, the upper about equal to the tube, the laterals and lower nearly twice as long. Corolla about twice the calyx, 1.3 to 1.8 cm long. Ovary oblong, ovules 2 to 3. Legume sessile, oblong-ovoid, 2 to 3 mm long, circumscissile, seeds 1 to 2, ovoid, yellow to purple"(1985). To identify T.pratense using a standardized key click here.

T.pratense
Courtesy of UGA Herbarium

Description of the species is credited to Linnaeus in 1753. Although the name was originally introduced by Tournefort, Linnaeus is credited because the Species Plantarum is considered the starting point for vascular plant nomenclature(Gillet, 1985). Gillet further explains that Linnaeus' "...classification was based on such characteristics as number of seeds in the pod, pubesence and inflation of the calyx after flowering, and the attitude of the standard"(1985). The location where the specimens were collected could not be found.

Geography:

Red Clover has spread to most temperate regions of the world including the Mediterranean to North Scandinavia, and most of North America from southern Florida and Texas to Canada and Alaska. It is also found in South America, New Zealand, Australia, China and Japan (Taylor & Quesenberry, 1996).

Table I: North American Distribution of T.pratense

Trifolium pratense

AREA STATUS REFERENCES
North America:
Continental United States; Canada
Yes Gillet 1985
Eastern North America:
United States east of Mississippi;
Ontario and eastern Canada
Yes Gillet 1985
Southeastern United States:
AL AR DE DC FL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV
Yes Gillet 1985
Southern Appalachian States:
AL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV
Yes Gillet 1985
Coastal Plain ? -
Piedmont Yes Radford, Ahles & Bell, 1968;
Jones & Coile, 1988 Hoveland 1990
Blue Ridge Mountains Yes Radford, Ahles & Bell, 1968
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Yes Radford, Ahles & Bell, 1968
Ridge and Valley Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
Cumberland Plateau Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
Central Arch ? -
Georgia Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
Clarke County, Georgia Yes Jones & Coile, 1968
Sams Farm Yes Brenda Rone, Pers. Ob.
Old Field Yes Brenda Rone, Pers. Ob.
Wetland ? -
Woods Rare Brenda Rone, Pers. Ob.
1-Hectare Plot No Brenda Rone, Pers. Ob.


Natural History:

Trifolium pratense thrives in temperate regions and does not do well in dry or hot humid climates(Taylor & Quesenberry, 1996). "Red clover is a short-lived perennial (2-3 years)that can be used in short-rotation pasture (2-4 years) or as an additon to long-rotation or semipermanent pasture"(http://web.css.orst.edu/Topics/Species/Legumes/Red_Clover/International_Fact_Sheet.html). T.pratense is good for pasture because of their nutritional quality and nitrogen fixing ability. However, their productivity and stand persistant decline after about two years due to insects, diseases, nematodes, drought and competition by other grasses(Hoveland et al, 1990). T.pratense characteristically displays rapid spring growth (Taylor & Quesenberry, 1996). Red clover is also known for its medicinal benefits for eczema, cancers, tumors, wounds, and many other problems (http://www.1001herbs.com/redclover).

How to Encounter:

Red clover can be found in meadows, along borders of fields, and especially in resting pastures(Gillet, 1985). Pastures are a good location to look because T.pratense plays a key role in its maintenance. It is easiest to find in the spring when it flourishes the most.

References:

  1. Gillet, J.M. 1985. Clover Science and Technology. American Society of Agronomy, Inc. Madison, WI

  2. Hoveland, C.S., J.W. Dobson, Jr. & J.F. Newsome. 1990. Performance of Ladino and Red Clover Varieties in North Georgia. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Georgia. Athens, GA

  3. Jones, S.B. & N.C. Coile. 1988. Distribution of the Vascular Flora of Georgia. Dept. of Botany, University of Georgia. Athens, GA

  4. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles & C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill, N.C.

  5. Takhtajan, A. 1997. Diversity and Classification of Flowering Plants. Columbia University Press. New York, NY

  6. Taylor, N.L. & K.H. Quesenberry. 1996. Red Clover Science. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht, The Netherlandsz

  7. http://web.css.orst.edu/Topics/Species/Legumes/Red_Clover/International_Fact_Sheet.html

  8. http://www.1001herbs.com/redclover/

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