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Fabaceae FAMILY

Trifolium repens

Trifolium repens

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

This plant has been known to cause problems for grazing animals, though this has never happened in Britain[1]. The problem may be associated with the climate in which the plant is growing[1]. The species is polymorphic for cyanogenic glycosides[2]. The leaves and flowers of certain cyanogenic phenotypes contain a glycoside which releases cyanide on contact with the enzyme linamarase[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
GrowthMedium

Trifolium repens has a wide native range from the cold temperate zone to the tropics, and can be found at elevations up to 6,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 14 - 22°c, but can tolerate 4 - 26°c[3]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -2°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at 0°c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 700 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 300 - 2,100mm[3]. Succeeds in a moist, well-drained circum-neutral soil, preferring a position in full sun but tolerating light shade[4, 3]. It prefers a sweet calcareous clay soil. Succeeds in poor soils. Plants have a moderate tolerance of saline soils[3].Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 4.5 - 8.2[3]. A very important food plant for the caterpillars of many butterfly and moth species[5] it is also a good bee plant[6]. Long-lived perennial. Grown as a winter annual in warmer areas. In northern areas, it may be sown in early spring, grazed or cut at intervals of 15-30 days during spring and summer, and harvested for seeds 25-30 days after full bloom in fall. Flowers and fruit from spring to fall in its northern regions[3]. White clover probably originated in the eastern Mediterranean region. In Kenya it can be grown at elevations above 1800 m. A good seed yield in New Zealand is about 750 kg/ha. White clover requires phosphates, sulphur, potash, lime and among trace elements molybdenum in particular. Grown with grasses it is easily suppressed by applications of nitrogen which encourage the grasses to become strongly competitive. Dry matter yields are usually between 1-7 t/ha[3]. A good companion plant in the lawn, tolerating trampling[7, 6], but it dislikes growing with henbane or members of the buttercup family[7]. It grows well in an apple orchard, the trees will produce tastier fruit that stores better[8]. 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[8]. Polymorphic, there are many subspecies and varieties. Some varieties have also been selected for use in lawn mixes[9]. 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[4]. Buttercups growing nearby depress the growth of the nitrogen bacteria by means of a root exudate[8].

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[10]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Trifolium+repens>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. — Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. · HMSO · 1984 · ISBN 0112425291 ↩︎Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
  2. [2]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. — Carter D. · Pan · 1982 · ISBN 0-330-26642-x ↩︎An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.
  6. [6]How to Enjoy your Weeds. — Hatfield. A. W. · Frederick Muller Ltd · 1977 · ISBN 0-584-10141-4 ↩︎Interesting reading.
  7. [7]Companion Plants. — Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. · Watkins · 1979 · ISBN - ↩︎Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
  8. [8]A - Z of Companion Planting. — Allardice.P. · Cassell Publishers Ltd. · 1993 · ISBN 0-304-34324-2 ↩︎A well produced and very readable book.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  11. [11]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  12. [12]Edible and Medicinal Plants. — Launert. E. · Hamlyn · 1981 · ISBN 0-600-37216-2 ↩︎Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
  13. [13]Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. — Triska. Dr. · Hamlyn · 1975 · ISBN 0-600-33545-3 ↩︎Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
  14. [14]Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. — Sweet. M. · Naturegraph Co. · 1962 · ISBN 0-911010-54-8 ↩︎Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.
  15. [15]Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest. — Schofield. J. J. · Alaska Northwest Books; Alaska · 2003 · ISBN 0882403699 ↩︎A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
  16. [16]The Useful Plants of Great Britain. — Johnson. C. P. ↩︎Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
  17. [17]Wild Food in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · Fontana · 1976 · ISBN 0-00-634436-4 ↩︎A very good pocket guide.
  18. [18]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  19. [19]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.