Trifolium hybridum

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]

Alsike clover
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Trifolium
Species:
T. hybridum
Binomial name
Trifolium hybridum
Synonyms
  • Amoria hybrida (L.) C. Presl.[1]
  • Amoria elegans (Savi) C. Presl[2]
  • Trifolium elegans Savi
  • Trifolium hybridum var. elegans (Savi) Boiss.
  • Trifolium hybridum var. pratense Rabenh.

History

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
  1. 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
  2. C. Presl Symb. Bot. 1(3): 47 1831
  3. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Trifolium hybridum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  4. 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.
  5. 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
  6. A R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, Flora of the British Isles, Cambridge, 1962, p 341
  7. Publications & Information: Alsike Clover Archived 2012-12-30 at the Wayback Machine. Montana State University.
  8. Clark, G. H. (1913). Fodder and Pasture Plants. Canada Dept. of Agriculture.
  9. "Alsike Clover". NatureGate. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  10. Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 122.
  11. "Trifolium hybridum (Alsike Clover)". Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
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