Cow Grass Trifolium pratense
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- try-FOH-lee-um pray-TEN-see
- Description
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The common name for Trifolium pratense, Red Clover, can be confusing as the flowers are more a pink to pink/purplish, not true red. It is grown as a forage crop for pasturage, hay and green manure for livestock. It is a nitrogen-fixing plant and is often grown as a cover crop to improve soil fertility. Its native habitat includes fields, pastures, meadows, waste areas, and along roadsides. It can be found in grassy locations that are not regularly mowed.
It can be easily distinguished from other varieties of clover by the large pink flower heads as well as the chevrons that appear on the leaflets.
Its flowers have a honey-like fragrance. The foliage can produce a pleasant clover-like scent. The flowering heads and foliage are both edible, both raw or cooked. Its young leaves should be harvested before the plant flowers. They can be used in salads or soups or cooked similar to spinach. The flowering heads as well as the seed pods can be dried and used as a flour substitute. The young flower are also eaten raw in salads.
It has also been widely used for athlete's foot, constipation, ulcers, corms, and menopause. Red clover contains isoflavones. The edible flowers taste sweet or like hay but they are not easily digestible. Do not eat the flowers if pregnant or nursing.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Its self-seeding and vigorous rhizomes can make this plant weedy. It is listed as invasive in a few states scattered around the county including WV and KY. Clover rot can be an issue.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Trifolium
- Species:
- pratense
- Family:
- Fabaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Biennial
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eurasia
- Fire Risk Rating:
- medium flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant supports Clouded Sulfur (Colias philodice) larvae which appear from May to October in the North and from March to November in the South. There are 3 flights in the North and 4 to 5 flights in the South. Adult Clouded Sulfur butterflies feed on flower nectar from many different plants. Bees, butterflies (and their caterpillars) and some moths are attracted to the nectar.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Attracts Pollinators
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Edibility:
- The leaves and you flowering heads are edible, raw or cooked.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 0 ft. 8 in. - 1 ft. 8 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Perennial
- Weed
- Wildflower
- Habit/Form:
- Ascending
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- Less than 12 inches
- 12 inches-3 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Description:
- Each flower head is eventually replaced by a seedpod. The con contain 1 or 2 heart shaped seeds.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Pink
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Head
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Fragrant
- Long Bloom Season
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Tubular
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Each flower head consists of numerous, outward spreading tubular flowers. Flowers have 5 pink/purplish-pink narrow petals.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Fragrant
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Long hairy petioles on the lower leaves. Leaflets can be up to 2" long and 3/4" wide. White or light green chevrons appear on the upper surface of each leaflet. 1 to 3 leaflets are directly below each flower head.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- The hairy stem may occasionally branch.
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Landscape:
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
- Dry Soil
- Erosion
- Problems:
- Short-lived
- Weedy