Trifolium incarnatum, known as crimson clover[1] or Italian clover, is a species of herbaceous flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to most of Europe. It has been introduced to other areas, including the United States and Japan.
This upright annual herb grows to 20–50cm (8-20") tall, unbranched or branched only at the base. The leaves are trifoliate with a long petiole, each leaflet hairy, 8–16mm across, with a truncated or bilobed apex. The flowers are produced throughout the spring and summer, rich red or crimson, congested on an elongated spike inflorescence 3–5cm tall and 1.5cm broad; the individual flowers are up to 10–13mm long and have five petals. The banner of each flower does not sit upright, but folds forward.
Crimson clover is commonly used in agriculture as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop.[2] The plant uses associations with Rhizobia bacteria to fix nitrogen.[2] The plant is widely grown as a protein-rich forage crop for cattle and other livestock, and is suitable to be made into hay. It is commonly grazed by domestic and wild ruminants.[3] It is often used for roadside erosion control, as well as beautification, however it tends to eliminate all other desirable spring and early-summer species of native vegetation in the area where it is planted.
Crimson clover's flowers and the sprouts are edible and similar in taste and appearance to alfalfa sprouts.[4][5] They can be added as an ingredient in salads, sandwiches, and other dishes, made into tisanes, and can be dried and ground into flour.[5] 100 grams of crimson clover sprouts contains 23 calories, 4g of protein, 2g of fiber, and provides 38 percent of the RDI of vitamin K, as well as 14 percent of the RDI of vitamin C.[4] It has extremely small amounts of calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, selenium and magnesium.[4] Like all sprouts eaten raw, there is a risk of contamination with Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and Bacillus cereus.[6] However, many reputable facilities in the United States attempt to regulate and test these crops for such bacteria.[7]
Life cycle
In mild winter areas, such as coastal California and the Pacific Northwest, crimson clover typically behaves as a winter annual. The seeds germinate in the first rains of late summer or autumn. The plants grow through the winter, and have a major flush of bloom in late spring. In dry summer climates, the plants die after maturing seeds. In sites having sufficient summer moisture, plants can continue growth and flowering; and may even behave as short lived perennials.
Cultivation
It is sown as quickly as possible after the removal of a grain crop at the rate of 20–22kg/ha. It is found to succeed better when only the surface of the soil is stirred by the scarifier and harrow than when a plowing is given. It grows rapidly in spring, and yields an abundant crop of greenery. Only one cutting, however, can be obtained, as it does not shoot again after being mown.
↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trifolium incarnatum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
↑ Heuzé V., Tran G., Maxin G., 2016. Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum). Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/247 Last updated on April 19, 2016, 11:33
Clover, also called trefoil, are plants of the genus Trifolium, consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with highest diversity in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics. They are small annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants, typically growing up to 30 centimetres (12 in) tall. The leaves are trifoliate, with stipules adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers; the small, few-seeded pods are enclosed in the calyx. Other closely related genera often called clovers include Melilotus and Medicago.
Forage is a plant material eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially as hay or silage.
The mung bean, alternatively known as green gram, maash ٫ mūng, monggo, đậu xanh, pesalu, kacang hijau or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family. The mung bean is mainly cultivated in East, Southeast and South Asia. It is used as an ingredient in both savoury and sweet dishes.
Trifolium stoloniferum, the running buffalo clover, is an endangered species of perennial clover native to the eastern and midwestern United States. From 1940 to 1985 it was believed to be extinct until two populations were discovered in West Virginia. Since then, more populations have been found in the US but it still remains one of the most imperiled plants in North America.
Trifolium pratense, red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions.
Trifolium arvense, commonly known as the hare's-foot clover, rabbitfoot clover, stone clover or oldfield clover, is a flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. This species of clover is native to most of Europe, excluding the Arctic zone, and western Asia, in plain or mid-mountain habitats up to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) altitude. It grows in dry sandy soils, both acidic and alkaline, soil with dry-mesic conditions and is typically found at the edge of fields, in wastelands, at the side of roads, on sand dunes, and opportunistically in vineyards and orchards when they are not irrigated.
Trifolium subterraneum, the subterranean clover, subterranean trefoil, is a species of clover native to Europe, Southwest Asia, Northwest Africa and Macaronesia. The plant's name comes from its underground seed development (geocarpy), a characteristic not possessed by other clovers.
Trifolium campestre, commonly known as hop trefoil, field clover and low hop clover, is a species of flowering plant native to Europe and western Asia, growing in dry, sandy grassland habitats, fields, woodland margins, roadsides, wastelands and cultivated land. The species name campestre means "of the fields".
Melilotus albus, known as honey clover, white melilot (UK), Bokhara clover (Australia), white sweetclover (US), and sweet clover, is a nitrogen-fixing legume in the family Fabaceae. Melilotus albus is considered a valuable honey plant and source of nectar and is often grown for forage. Its characteristic sweet odor, intensified by drying, is derived from coumarin.
Lupinus angustifolius is a species of lupin known by many common names, including narrowleaf lupin, narrow-leaved lupin and blue lupin. It is native to Eurasia and northern Africa and naturalized in parts of Australia and North America. It has been cultivated for over 6000 years as a food crop for its edible legume seeds, as a fodder for livestock and for green manure.
Dalea searlsiae, commonly known as Searls' prairie clover, is a perennial legume species belonging to the Dalea genus. The species is found through arid regions of the southwestern United States and can survive in low moisture conditions. The species forms symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that can improve soil nutrient levels. Its large inflorescence attracts many species of pollinators, and it lacks toxins found in similar legume species. As a result, the species has been considered for use in rangeland restoration and revegetation projects.
Medicago lupulina, commonly known as black medick, nonesuch, or hop clover, is a plant of dry grassland belonging to the legume or clover family. Plants of the genus Medicago, or bur clovers, are closely related to the true clovers (Trifolium) and sweet clover (Melilotus). Like the true clovers, black medick has three leaflets and a small, yellow flower closely resembling those of lesser trefoil. Black medick belongs to the same genus as alfalfa.
Medicago polymorpha is a plant species of the genus Medicago. It is native to the Mediterranean basin but is found throughout the world. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium medicae, which is capable of nitrogen fixation. Common names include California burclover, toothed bur clover, toothed medick and burr medic.
Trifolium alexandrinum is an annual clover cultivated mostly in irrigated sub-tropical regions, and used as leguminous crop. It is an important winter crop in Egypt, where it may have been cultivated since ancient times, and was introduced into northern India in the early nineteenth century. It is also grown in the United States, Europe, China and Australia.
Trifolium breweri, which has the common names forest clover and Brewer's clover, is a perennial clover that is native to mixed evergreen forests and coastal coniferous forests in Southern Oregon and California.
Trifolium fragiferum, the strawberry clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant species in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. It is present in other places, such as sections of North America, as an introduced species. It is also cultivated as a cover crop and for hay and silage, as green manure, and as a bee plant.
Trifolium macrocephalum is a species of clover known by the common name largehead clover or bighead clover native to the Great Basin region of the western United States.
Trifolium pannonicum is a species of clover known by the common name Hungarian Clover.
Trifolium reflexum, the Buffalo Clover, is a species of clover native to the Eastern United States. It is found in areas of natural openings including woodlands, glades, and prairies, often in acidic areas. It is an annual or biennial that produces white to dark pink flowers in the late spring.
Parkia filicoidea, or African locust bean, is a large, spreading flat-crowned tree to 30 metres tall, the bole of which may be narrowly buttressed to a height of about 3 metres, and up to 120 cm DBH. It occurs in wet evergreen or semi-deciduous forest, sometimes on forest fringes, riverbanks and lakes, termite mounds, at elevations up to 1000 metres from Côte d’Ivoire, east to Sudan and Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Bark on trunk scaly or smooth, grey to yellow-brown, branchlets glabrous to puberulous.
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