Trifolium hybridum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Fabales

Familia: Fabaceae
Subfamilia: Faboideae
Tribus: Trifolieae
Genus: Trifolium
Subgenus: T. subg. Trifolium
Sectio: T. sect. Vesicastrum
Species: Trifolium hybridum
Subspecies: T. h. subsp. elegans – T. h. subsp. hybridum
Varietas: T. h. var. anatolicum
Name

Trifolium hybridum L., Sp. Pl. 2: 766 (1753).
Synonyms

Homotypic
Amoria hybrida (L.) C.Presl, Symb. Bot. 1: 47 (1830).
Trifolium elegans subsp. hybridum (L.) Bonnier & Layens, Tabl. Syn. Pl. Vasc. France: 78 (1894).

Homonyms

Trifolium hybridum Savi = Trifolium nigrescens subsp. nigrescens

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Northern Europe
Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden.
Regional: Middle Europe
Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland.
Regional: Southwestern Europe
France, Sardegna, Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kriti (doubtfully present), Romania, Turkey-in-Europe, Yugoslavia.
Regional: Eastern Europe
Belarus, Baltic States, Krym, Central European Russia, East European Russia, North European Russia, South European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Ukraine.
Continental: Africa
Regional: Northern Africa
Algeria, Morocco.
Regional: Southern Africa
Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Northern Provinces.
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Siberia
Altay, Buryatiya, Chita, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Tuva, West Siberia, Yakutiya.
Regional: Russian Far East
Amur, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Kuril Islands, Magadan, Primorye, Sakhalin.
Regional: Middle Asia
Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tadzhikistan.
Regional: Caucasus
North Caucasus, Transcaucasus.
Regional: Western Asia
Iran, Iraq, Turkey.
Regional: China
China South-Central, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, China North-Central, China Southeast, Xinjiang.
Regional: Eastern Asia
Japan, Korea, Nansei-shoto.
Continental: Asia-Tropical
Regional: Indian Subcontinent
India, Sri Lanka.
Continental: Australasia
Regional: Australia
Victoria, Western Australia.
Regional: New Zealand
Chatham Islands, New Zealand North, New Zealand South.
Continental: Northern America
Regional: Northwestern U.S.A.
Colorado.
Regional: North-Central U.S.A.
Illinois.
Regional: Northeastern U.S.A.
New York, Vermont.
Regional: South-Central U.S.A.
New Mexico.
Regional: Southeastern U.S.A.
Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee.
Continental: Southern America.
Regional: Caribbean
Bermuda.
Regional: Western South America
Colombia, Peru.
Regional: Southern South America
Argentina Northeast, Argentina South, Chile Central, Chile South, Uruguay.
Continental: Antarctic
Regional: Subantarctic Islands
Falkland Islands.
Note: Grey script indicates introduced occurrences

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 766. Reference page.

Additional references

Ackerfield, J. 2015. Flora of Colorado. 818 pp. BRIT Press.
Aistova, E. 2009. Check-list of adventive flora of Amur region. Turczaninowia 12(1–2): 17–40.
Zohary, M. & Heller, D. 1984. The genus Trifolium. Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. ISBN 965-208-056-X Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Trifolium hybridum in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jun 17. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Trifolium hybridum. Published online. Accessed: Jun 17 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Trifolium hybridum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jun 17.
Hassler, M. 2021. Trifolium hybridum. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jun 17. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Trifolium hybridum. Accessed: 17 Jun 2021.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Trifolium hybridum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 28-Oct-07.

Vernacular names
dansk: Alsike-Kløver
Deutsch: Schwedenklee
English: Alsike Clover
suomi: Alsikeapila
hornjoserbsce: Šwedski dźećel
日本語: タチオランダゲンゲ
Nederlands: Basterdklaver
norsk nynorsk: Alsikekløver
norsk: Alsikekløver
polski: Koniczyna białoróżowa
svenska: Alsikeklöver
Türkçe: İsveç üçgülü

Trifolium hybridum, the alsike clover,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. The stalked, pale pink or whitish flower head grows from the leaf axils, and the trifoliate leaves are unmarked. The plant is up to 40 centimetres (1.3 ft) tall,[4]: 152  and is found in fields and on roadsides – it is also grown as fodder (hay or silage). The plant blooms from spring to autumn (April to October in the northern hemisphere).[5] Originating in mainland Europe, it has become established as an introduced plant in the British Isles[1] and throughout the temperate regions of the world.[6]

History
Trifolium hybridum - roosa (rootsi) ristik.jpg

Despite its scientific name, alsike clover is not of hybrid origin. The plant gets its common name from the town of Alsike in Sweden from which Linnaeus first described it. He thought it was a cross between white clover (T. repens) and red clover (T. pratense), but in this he was mistaken and it is a separate species.[7][8]
Description

Alsike clover is a perennial plant with a semi-erect, sparsely branched, grooved stem, hairy in its upper regions. The leaves are alternate and stalked with small stipules. The leaves have three blunt-tipped ovate, unspotted leaflets with finely toothed margins. The inflorescence has a long stalk and is densely globose. The individual florets have a five-lobed calyx and an irregular corolla consisting of five pink petals, one upstanding "standard", two lateral "wings" and the lower two fused to form a "keel". There are ten stamens and a single carpal.[9]

The plant can irritate skin if handled.[10]
Distribution and habitat

Alsike clover is native to much of southern Europe and southwestern Asia, especially in mountainous regions. It is widely cultivated and used as a forage crop and for this purpose the subspecies T. h. hybridum is used and this has become naturalised further north in Europe and in other parts of the world. Its natural habitat is fields, meadows, roadsides, banks and waste ground. When added to seed mixtures, it seldom persists once the sward has closed up.[11]
References

C. A. Stace, Interactive Flora of the British Isles, a Digital Encyclopaedia: Trifolium hybridum. ISBN 90-75000-69-3. (Online version) Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine
C. Presl Symb. Bot. 1(3): 47 1831
"Trifolium hybridum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
Blamey, M.; Fitter, R.; Fitter, A (2003). Wild flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora. London: A & C Black. ISBN 978-1408179505.
Lee Peterson, Roger Tory Peterson, Lee Allen Peterson, A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1978, c1977. 330 p. (The Peterson field guide series, no. 23): pp 56, 124. Google Books
A R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, Flora of the British Isles, Cambridge, 1962, p 341
Publications & Information: Alsike Clover Archived 2012-12-30 at the Wayback Machine. Montana State University.
Clark, G. H. (1913). Fodder and Pasture Plants. Canada Dept. of Agriculture.
"Alsike Clover". NatureGate. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 122.
"Trifolium hybridum (Alsike Clover)". Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Retrieved 2013-12-24.