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).
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. |
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.