Alsike Clover Trifolium hybridum

Trifolium hybridum is a flowering plant in the bean family.  Its natural habitat includes moist meadows, pastures, abandoned fields, and roadsides. Cool and moist conditions will provide the best performance.  The common name, Alsike Clover, arises from Carl Linnaeus, who was an avid plant lover, discovering it growing in Alsike, a small town in Sweden.  It was introduced into the USA by early European settlers and has since become naturalized the Americas.  

Its globular flowers are light pink to white. As the flowers age, the pink will darken, beginning with the lower blossoms on the globe.  The change in the coloring results in an attractive two-toned color pattern. 

Although considered weedy, Alsike Clover is highly a highly valuable plant for wildlife.  A wide variety of insects, including bees and butterflies, songbirds, game birds, and mammals feed on the seeds and foliage.  

This plant is often confused with Trifolium repens or Trifolium pratense.  Differences include; the flower head of Trifolium hybridum has a peduncle (a stalk-like part), and is not supported by stipules or leaves; it does not creep along the ground and root at the nodes; and leaflets of Trifolium hybridum are unmottled, where Trifolium repens can have an inverted V near their base.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  Does not perform well when regular mowing occurs.  Weedy