Trifolium repens

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. Trifoliastrum
Species: Trifolium repens
Varietates: T. r. var. biasolettii – T. r. var. giganteum – T. r. var. latum – T. r. var. macrorrhizum – T. r. var. nevadensis – T. r. var. orbelicum – T. r. var. orphanideum – T. r. var. repens
Name

Trifolium repens L., Sp. Pl. 2: 767 (1753).

Synonyms

Homotypic
Amoria repens (L.) C.Presl, Symb. Bot. 1: 47 (1830).
Lotodes repens (L.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 194 (1891).

Heterotypic
see Trifolium repens var. repens

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus II: 767. Reference page.

Additional references

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
Ackerfield, J. (2015). Flora of Colorado: 1-818. BRIT Press.
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 repens 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 19. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Trifolium repens. Published online. Accessed: Jun 19 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Trifolium repens. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jun 19.
Hassler, M. 2021. Trifolium repens. 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 19. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Trifolium repens. Accessed: 19 Jun 2021.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Trifolium repens in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 28-Oct-07.

Vernacular names
Afrikaans: Witklawer
العربية: نفل زاحف, نفل ابيض, نفل أبيض
azərbaycanca: Ağ yonca
башҡортса: Аҡ туҡыранбаш
български: Пълзяща детелина, Бяла детелина
català: Trèvol blanc
kaszëbsczi: Biôłô kòniczëna
čeština: jetel plazivý, jetel bílý plazivý
Cymraeg: Meillionen wen
dansk: Hvid-Kløver, Hvidkløver, Hvid Kløver
Deutsch: Weiß-Klee
dolnoserbski: Běła źiśelina
Ελληνικά: Λευκό τριφύλλι
English: white clover, dutch clover, ladino, ladino clover
español: trébol blanco, carretón, chupamieles, chupón, motas blancas, teble, trebillo, trébol, trebolillo, trebolillo marfuelle, tribulillo, trébol, trébol bravo, trébol de los prados con flor blanca, trébol de prados, trébol manchado, trébol pratense que hace las flores blancas, trébol rastrero, trébol rastrero blanco, trébol silvestre, trébole blanco
eesti: Valge ristik, Amoria repens
euskara: Hirusta zuri
فارسی: شبدر سفید
suomi: Valkoapila
français: Trèfle blanc, Trèfle rampant, Trefle blanc, Trèfle de Hollande
galego: Trevo branco
hornjoserbsce: Běły dźećel
magyar: Fehérhere, Fehér here
íslenska: Hvítsmári
italiano: trifoglio bianco, trifoglio ladino, trifoglio rampicante
日本語: シロツメクサ, クローバー, シロツメクサ, 白詰草, シロツメグサ
ქართული: სამყურა მხოხავი
한국어: 토끼풀, 흰토끼풀
lietuvių: Baltasis dobilas
latviešu: Ložņu āboliņš
norsk bokmål: Hvitkløver, Kvitkløver
Nederlands: Witte klaver
norsk nynorsk: Kvitkløver
norsk: Hvitkløver
Diné bizaad: Tłʼoh waaʼí nahalinígíí
ирон: Тæрхъусгæрдæг
polski: Koniczyna biała, Koniczyna rozesłana
русский: Клевер ползучий, Клевер голландский, Клевер белый, Кашка, Белая кашка
srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски: Bela detelina
slovenčina: ďatelina plazivá
slovenščina: Plazeča detelja
српски / srpski: Бела детелина, Детелина пузећа, Пузећа дјетелина, Пузећа детелина, Бијела дјетелина, Дјетелина бијела, Дјетелина пузећа, Детелина бела
svenska: Vitklöver
Türkçe: Ak üçgül
українська: Конюшина повзуча, Конюшина біла
中文（简体）: 白三叶草
中文（繁體）: 白三葉草
中文（臺灣）: 白三葉草
中文: 白三葉草, 白花三葉草, 白三葉, 菽草,白車軸草, 白三叶, 白三叶草, 白三草, 白車軸草, 菽草, 白花三叶草

Trifolium repens, white clover[2] (also known as Dutch clover, Ladino clover, or Ladino), is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (previously referred to as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles,[3] 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 (lawns and gardens) of North America, Australia and New Zealand.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] 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 (but sometimes to smaller varieties), and 'ladino clover' is applied to large varieties.[12][13][14][15]

Name
Illustration
A T. repens leaf
T. repens flowering
Four-leaf Trifolium repens
T. repens flower

The genus name, Trifolium, derives from the Latin tres, "three", and folium, "leaf", so called from the characteristic form of the leaf, which almost always has three leaflets (trifoliolate); hence the popular name "trefoil". The species name, repens, is Latin for "creeping".
Description

It is a herbaceous, perennial plant. It is low growing, with heads of whitish flowers, often with a tinge of pink or cream that may come on with the aging of the plant. The heads are generally 1.5–2 centimetres (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) wide, and are at the end of 7 centimetres (2+3⁄4 in) peduncles or inflorescence stalks.[16] The flowers are mostly visited by bumblebees[17] and often by honey bees. The leaves are trifoliolate, smooth, elliptic to egg-shaped and long-petioled and usually with light or dark markings. The stems function as stolons, so white clover often forms mats, with the stems creeping as much as 18 cm (7 in) a year, and rooting at the nodes.[16] The leaves form the symbol known as shamrock. Almost always, a white clover will be trifoliolate. However, one can, but only sometimes, possess four or more leaflets.
Varieties and subspecies

Trifolium repens subsp. macrorrhizum (Boiss.) Ponert
Trifolium repens var. nevadense (Boiss.) C.Vicioso
Trifolium repens var. ochranthum K.Maly
Trifolium repens var. orbelicum (Velen.) Fritsch
Trifolium repens var. orphanideum (Boiss.) Boiss.
Trifolium repens subsp. prostratum Nyman[1]

Distribution

It is native in Europe and Central Asia, ubiquitous throughout the British Isles,[18][3] introduced in North America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and elsewhere, and globally cultivated as a forage crop.
Ancestry

Trifolium repens is a tetraploid (4n=32) with two diploid ancestors.[19] In order to increase genetic diversity for breeding, research is focused on finding these ancestors. Proposed ancestors of Trifolium repens include Trifolium nigrescens, Trifolium occidentale, Trifolium pallescens, and Trifolium uniflorum.[19][20][21][22] Additionally, it is possible that one of the diploid ancestors has yet to be analyzed, either because it has not been discovered or is extinct.[23]
Cultivation and uses
Forage

White clover has been described as the most important forage legume of the temperate zones.[24] Symbiotic nitrogen fixation (up to 545 kilograms per hectare per year (486 lb/acre/a) of N,[25] although usually much less, e.g. about 110 to 170 kilograms per hectare per year (98 to 152 lb/acre/a)[26]) in root nodules of white clover obviates synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use for maintaining productivity on much temperate zone pasture land. White clover is commonly grown in mixtures with forage grasses, e.g. perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne).[27][28][29] Such mixtures can not only optimize livestock production, but can also reduce the bloat risk to livestock that can be associated with excessive white clover in pastures.[30] Such species mixtures also tend to avoid issues that could otherwise be associated with cyanogenic glycosides (linamarin and lotaustralin) intake on pure or nearly pure stands of some white clover varieties.[31] However, problems do not inevitably arise with grazing on monocultures of white clover, and superior ruminant production is sometimes achieved on white clover monocultures managed to optimize sward height.[32]

Formononetin and biochanin A play a role in arbuscular mycorrhiza formation on white clover roots,[33] and foliar disease can stimulate production of estrogenic coumestans in white clover.[34] However, while there have been a few reports of phytoestrogenic effects of white clover on grazing ruminants,[34] these have been far less common than such reports regarding some varieties of subterranean and red clover. Among forage plants, some white clover varieties tend to be favored by rather close grazing, because of their stoloniferous habit,[35][36] which can contribute to competitive advantage.
Companion planting, green manure, and cover crops

White clover grows well as a companion plant among lawns, grain crops, pasture grasses, and vegetable rows.[16] It is often added to lawn seed mixes, as it is able to grow and provide green cover in poorer soils where turfgrasses do not perform well. White clover can tolerate close mowing and grazing, and it can grow on many different types and pHs of soil (although it prefers clay soils).[16] As a leguminous and hardy plant, it is considered to be a beneficial component of natural or organic pasture management and lawn care due to its ability to fix nitrogen and out-compete weeds. Natural nitrogen fixing reduces leaching from the soil and by maintaining soil health can reduce the incidence of some lawn diseases that are enhanced by the availability of synthetic fertilizer.[37] For these reasons, it is often used as a green manure and cover crop.
Culinary uses

Besides making an excellent forage crop for livestock,[38] its leaves and flowers are a valuable survival food: they are high in proteins, and are widespread and abundant. The fresh plants have been used for centuries as additives to salads and other meals consisting of leafy vegetables. They are not easy for humans to digest raw, however, but this is easily fixed by boiling the harvested plants for 5–10 minutes.[39] Native Americans ate some species raw.[40] Dried white clover flowers may also be smoked as a herbal alternative to tobacco.[41]
Medicinal uses

In India, T. repens is considered a folk medicine against intestinal helminthic worms, and an experimental in-vivo study validated that the aerial shoots of T. repens bear significant anticestodal (anti-tapeworm) properties.[42]
Etymology

Trifolium means 'trefoil' (three-lobed leaves); this is Pliny’s name for trifoliate plants.[43]

Repens means 'creeping' or 'stoloniferous'.[43]
References

"Trifolium repens L. — The Plant List". theplantlist.org.
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trifolium repens". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg., E.F. 1968. Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-04656-4
"Altervista Flora Italiana, Trifoglio strisciante, Weißklee, vitklöver, Trifolium repens L". Luirig.altervista.org. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
"Flora of Zimbabwe: Species information: Trifolium repens". zimbabweflora.co.zw.
"Weeds of Australia: Trifolium repens".
Böcher, T. W. 1978. Greenlands Flora 326 pp.
Duchen, P. & S. G. Beck. 2012. Estudio taxonómico de las Leguminosas del Parque Nacional Area Natural de Manejo Integrado (PN-ANMI) Cotapata, La Paz-Bolivia. Revista de la Sociedad Boliviana de Botánica 6(1): 13–51.
Correa A., M.D., C. Galdames & M. Stapf. 2004. Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares de Panamá 1–599. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá
Marticorena, C. & M. Quezada. 1985. Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Chile. Gayana, Botánica 42: 1–157.
Porsild, A. E. & W. Cody. 1980. Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Northwest Territories Canada i–viii, 1–607. National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa
Barnes, R. F., C. J. Nelson, M. Collins, and K. J. Moore (eds.). 2003. Forages: an introduction to grassland agriculture. Vol. 1. 6th ed. Blackwell Publishing. 556 pp.
Henning, J. C. and H. N. Wheaton. 1993. White, ladino and sweet clover. G4639. U. Missouri Extension. http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G4639
Rasnake, M., G. D. Lacefield, J. C. Henning, N. L. Taylor and D. C. Ditsch. Growing white clover in Kentucky. Univ. Kentucky. AGR-93. http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr93/agr93.htm[permanent dead link]
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Ellison, Nick W.; Liston, Aaron; Steiner, Jeffrey J.; Williams, Warren M.; Taylor, Norman L. (2006). "Molecular phylogenetics of the clover genus (Trifolium—Leguminosae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 39 (3): 688–705. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.01.004. PMID 16483799.
Williams, Warren M.; Ellison, Nicholas W.; Ansari, Helal A.; Verry, Isabelle M.; Hussain, S. Wajid (2012-04-24). "Experimental evidence for the ancestry of allotetraploid Trifolium repens and creation of synthetic forms with value for plant breeding". BMC Plant Biology. 12: 55. doi:10.1186/1471-2229-12-55. ISSN 1471-2229. PMC 3443075. PMID 22530692.
Williams, W. M.; Ansari, H. A.; Hussain, S. W.; Ellison, N. W.; Williamson, M. L.; Verry, I. M. (2008-01-01). "Hybridization and Introgression between Two Diploid Wild Relatives of White Clover, Trifolium nigrescens Viv. and T. occidentale Coombe All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher". Crop Science. 48 (1): 139–148. doi:10.2135/cropsci2007.05.0295. ISSN 1435-0653.
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Carlsson, G., and K. Huss-Danell. "Nitrogen fixation in perennial forage legumes in the field." Plant and Soil 253, no. 2 (2003): 353-372.
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Ulyatt, M. J., D. J. Thomson, D. E. Beever, R. T. Evans, and M. J. Haines. "The digestion of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne cv. Melle) and white clover (Trifolium repens cv. Blanca) by grazing cattle." British Journal of Nutrition 60, no. 01 (1988): 137-149.
Evans, D. R., and T. A. Williams. "The effect of cutting and grazing managements on dry matter yield of white clover varieties (Trifolium repens) when grown with S23 perennial ryegrass." Grass and Forage Science 42, no. 2 (1987): 153-159.
Moseley, G., and J. R. Jones. "The physical digestion of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens) in the foregut of sheep." British Journal of Nutrition 52, no. 02 (1984): 381-390.
Wolfe, E. C., and Alec Lazenby. "Bloat incidence and liveweight gain in beef cattle on pastures containing different proportions of white clover (Trifolium repens)." Animal Production Science 12, no. 55 (1972): 119-125.
Crush, J. R., and J. R. Caradus. "Cyanogenesis potential and iodine concentration in white clover (Trifolium repens L.) cultivars." New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 38, no. 3 (1995): 309-316.
Orr, R. J., A. J. Parsons, P. D. Penning, and T. T. Treacher. "Sward composition, animal performance and the potential production of grass/white clover swards continuously stocked with sheep." Grass and Forage Science 45, no. 3 (1990): 325-336.
Siqueira, J. O., G. R. Safir, and M. G. Nair. "Stimulation of vesicular‐arbuscular mycorrhizal formation and growth of white clover by flavonoid compounds." New Phytologist 118, no. 1 (1991): 87-93.
Adams, Norman R. "Detection of the effects of phytoestrogens on sheep and cattle." Journal of Animal Science 73, no. 5 (1995): 1509-1515.
Lane, L. A., J. F. Ayres and J. V. Lovett. "The pastoral significance, adaptive characteristics, and grazing value of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in dryland environments in Australia: a review." Animal Production Science 40, no. 7 (2000): 1033-1046.
Caradus, J. R. "Genetic diversity within white clover (Trifolium repens L.)." In Proceedings Agronomy Society of NZ, vol. 24, p. 2. 1994.
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Coladonato, Milo (1993). "Trifolium repens". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
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"Clover - White". Foraging Texas. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
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