Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Trifolium repens

Other names

Dutch Clover, Kentish Clover, Wild White

Family

Fabaceae

Flowering season

May to November

English distribution

It is found throughout the country.

See the BSBI distribution map for White Clover

Habitat

It grows in most grassy places and is sown as a nitrogen

-enriching crop.

Description

White Clover is a native, creeping, stoloniferous, sweet-

smelling, nitrogen-fixing herb, growing up to 50cm.

Flowerheads are in the axils of leaves and on long

stalks of up to 30cm.

Flowerheads are globular and up to 2cm across – some

commercial varieties are bigger.

Flowers are up to 1cm, mainly off-white but sometimes

slightly pink.

The flower stalks, pedicels, are the same length as the

calyx-tube.

The pedicels become deflexed after flowering.

Leaflets are oval, up to 2cm and with a pale V-shaped

mark.

The leaf stalks, petioles, are variable but can be over

15cm.

Stipules are papery and narrowly-oblong with short

points.

The stems root strongly at the nodes, enabling the

plant to spread.

White Clover is rather variable in appearance.

It is small and compact on short turf by the sea and

tall and straggly in taller vegetation.