Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus Trifolium, consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea 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 cm tall. The leaves are trifoliate, monofoil, bifoil, cinquefoil, hexafoil, septfoil, etcetera, 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.
A shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name shamrock comes from Irish seamróg, which is the diminutive of the Irish word seamair and simply means "young clover".
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.
Trifolium repens, white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and central Asia and is one of the most widely cultivated types of clover. It has been widely introduced worldwide as a forage crop, and is now also common in most grassy areas of North America, Australia and New Zealand. The species includes varieties often classed as small, intermediate and large, according to height, which reflects petiole length. The term 'white clover' is applied to the species in general, 'Dutch clover' is often applied to intermediate varieties, and 'ladino clover' is applied to large varieties.
Trifolium pratense, the 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 incarnatum, known as crimson clover or Italian clover, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to most of Europe. It has been introduced to other areas, including the United States and Japan.
Exmoor Coastal Heaths is a 1758.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Devon and Somerset, notified in 1994.
NVC community H7 is one of the heath communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of two communities categorised as maritime heaths.
British NVC community MG5 is one of the mesotrophic grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of four such communities associated with well-drained permanent pastures and meadows.
British NVC community MC5 is one of the maritime cliff communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of five communities categorised as maritime cliff crevice and ledge communities.
Hothfield Common is a 56.5-hectare (140-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Ashford in Kent. It is also a Local Nature Reserve, and is part of the 86-hectare (210-acre) Hothfield Heathlands nature reserve owned by Ashford Borough Council and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.
Cleome ornithopodioides or bird spiderflower is the type species of the genus Cleome which is part of the family Cleomaceae or Brassicaceae. The species epithet means "birds-foot like".
Treen Cliff is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) located on the Penwith Peninsula in Cornwall, England, UK, 6 miles (9.7 km) south-west of Penzance. First notified in 1951, with a revision in 1973, and a further notification on 1 July 1986, it is 49.3 hectares in area, stretching from grid reference SW387220 to SW402225. Designated for both for its biological and geological interest, part of the site, Treryn Dinas, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument consisting of a "cliff castle" with four ramparts and ditches and the Logan Rock. It is within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the Penwith Heritage Coast and is part owned and managed by the National Trust.
Caerthillian to Kennack is a coastal Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, UK, noted for both its biological and geological characteristics. It is of great botanical importance, with several Red Data Book of rare and endangered plant species being found on the site, as well as a breeding site for Cornish choughs.
Trifolium virginicum, the Kate's Mountain clover, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to West Virginia and Virginia in the United States, growing only on the Piedmont mafic barren, with Kate's Mountain as the type locality. Trifolium virginicum is the symbol of the West Virginia Native Plant Society, which claims it can also be found in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Trifolium ambiguum, the kura clover or Caucasian clover, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Ukraine, Crimea, south European Russia, the northern Caucasus, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, and has been introduced to New South Wales. Planted for forage, once established it is tolerant of close grazing, and is also useful for honey production.
Trifolium scabrum, the rough clover, is a species of annual herb in the family Fabaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and compound, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 0.12 m.
Trifolium semipilosum, the Kenya clover or Kenya white clover, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and has been introduced to Saint Helena. It is a close wild relative of the important forage crop Trifolium repens.
