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.
A shamrock is a type of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, one of Ireland's patron saints, 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".
Trifolium repens, the 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 stoloniferum, the running buffalo clover, is an endangered species of perennial clover native to the eastern and midwestern United States. From 1940 to 1983 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.
Lepidium virginicum, also known as least pepperwort or Virginia pepperweed, is an herbaceous plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to much of North America, including most of the United States and Mexico and southern regions of Canada, as well as most of Central America. It can be found elsewhere as an introduced species.
Trifolium incarnatum, known as crimson clover 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.
Trifolium wormskioldii is a species of clover native to the western half of North America. Its common names include cows clover, coast clover, sand clover, seaside clover, springbank clover, and Wormskjold's clover.
Aster alpinus, the alpine aster or blue alpine daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the mountains of Europe, with a subspecies native to Canada and the United States. This herbaceous perennial has purple, pink, or blue flowers in summer.
Itea virginica, commonly known as Virginia willow or Virginia sweetspire, is a small North American flowering shrub that grows in low-lying woods and wetland margins. Virginia willow is a member of the Iteaceae family, and native to the southeast United States. Itea virginica has small flowers on pendulous racemes.
The Cedars Natural Area Preserve is a Natural Area Preserve located in Lee County, Virginia. It protects rare plant and animal species adapted to the unique conditions of a karst landscape.
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, commonly known as aromatic aster or oblong-leaved aster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is native to parts of the eastern and central United States. It is an uncommon herbaceous perennial that reaches heights of 10–80 centimeters and blooms August–November with many flower heads in various shades of purple.
Trifolium angustifolium is a species of clover known by the common names narrowleaf crimson clover, narrow clover and narrow-leaved clover.
Borodinia serotina is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name shale barren rockcress. It is native to eastern West Virginia and western Virginia in and around the Shenandoah Valley, where it is known from 62 populations. It is endemic to the shale barrens, a type of habitat characterized by steep slopes of bare shale, an exposed, rocky habitat type that is subject to very dry and hot conditions. Shale barrens host a number of endemics, such as Allium oxyphilum and Taenidia montana, and this rockcress is among the rarest. It is a federally listed endangered species.
Kate's Mountain, south of White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, was named for Catherine "Kate" Carpenter, who in September 1756 took refuge with her child on the mountain's peak during an Indian attack in which her husband Nicholas Carpenter was killed near Fort Dinwiddie in the vicinity of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Kate's Mountain is the highest of the peaks in Greenbrier State Forest at 3,280 feet. Kate's Mountain was the inspiration for the 19th Century romantic poem The Mystic Circle of Kate's Mountain, first published in fragmentary form in 1860 and published in its entirety in 1895. Kate's Mountain is the type location for Kate's Mountain clover, Trifolium virginicum, the symbol of the West Virginia Native Plant Society.
American ginseng is a species of flowering plant in the ivy family Araliaceae. It is native to eastern North America and introduced in China. The specific epithet quinquefolius means "five-leaved", which refers to the typical number of leaflets per leaf. It is one of a group of taxa known as "ginseng".
Panax trifolius, commonly called dwarf ginseng, is a plant native to the Northeastern and Appalachian regions of North America. It is found in low mesic woods with acidic soils.
Triadenum fraseri, commonly known as bog St. John's wort, Fraser's St. John's wort, and Fraser's marsh St. John's wort, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae that grows in wetlands of Canada and the northern United States. It is named after John Fraser (1750–1811), a Scottish botanist and widely travelled plant collector.
Hypericum virginicum, the marsh St. Johns-wort or Virginia marsh St. Johnswort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is native to the central and eastern United States and eastern Canada.
Trifolium kentuckiense is a critically imperiled species of clover endemic to the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is commonly known as Kentucky clover. It is found only in Franklin and Woodford counties in Kentucky and is considered to be highly endangered.
