White clover Trifolium repens
Table of Contents
A native wildflower to the UK and a real favourite with bumble bees, white clover thrives in all types of grassland from meadows to lawns and is the most common of the clover plants.
Plant family: Fabaceae
Aliases: Dutch clover, milky blobs, shamrock
Flowering period: June – September
Flower colour: White – pale pink
Preferred soil type: Most types
Habitat: Grassland, meadows, roadside verges, lawns
Status: Common
General information
A native, perennial wildflower, a member of the pea family of plants and probably the most common of the clovers. It’s preferred habitat is any type of grassy area, from grassy meadows to fine turf (where it’s considered a broad-leaved weed in most cases), and is happy on most soil types.
It’s a relatively low growing plant reaching a maximum height of around 30cm and it spreads by creeping over-ground runners (stolons). White clover is a legume and is able to fix nitrogen, meaning it draws nitrogen from the atmosphere and is then stored in the roots. Due to its ability to fix nitrogen, white clover has become an important forage crop and has a beneficial effect on soil health.
Identification
Flowers: The globular flower heads are borne on long stalks, they measure up to 20mm in diameter and carry between 50 – 80 small ‘pea-like’ flowers (7 – 10mm long) that are white to pale pink in colour. The flower heads turn brown as they age toward the end of the season.
Leaves: The leaves are typically of most clover plants, in that they consist of three leaflets (four if your lucky). Each leaflet measures up to 15mm across, is round – oval in shape and inflorescent veins, quite often a whitish band can be observed on the upper surface of the leaflets.
Value for wildlife
As well as being a forage plant for cattle, clovers are high-value nectar producing plants and attract many pollinators including bees, butterflies, hoverflies and moths
Uses for white clover
The flowers and leaves are high in protein, with the leaves being harvested prior to the plant flowering and used in salads, (boiling them prior to eating makes them easier to digest) and soups.
The leaves, once dried can be used in cake mixtures to add a vanilla flavouring. The dried flowers have been used to make a tea and also as a substitute for tobacco.
White clover has various medicinal uses and has been used to cleanse blood, sores, boils and skin abrasions. The tea is said to relieve symptoms of colds, coughs and fevers.
White clover images
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