Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Trifolium pratense
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Red Clover from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trifolium pratense
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trifolium pratense
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Trifolium pratense
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-14-005:
Trifolium pratense FAMILY Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trifolium pratense
COMMON NAME:
Red Clover
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_trpr2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_trpr2_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm190425_7772
April Greenville County SC
Flowers are tiny, pink, sessile, and borne in a round head 1" across, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm0205b_09a
May Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm140525_204b
May Henderson County NC
Petals 1.2-1.8cm long, with the standard longer than wings or keel, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm190518_8433
May Greenville County SC
The color of these particular flowers was intense.
)
JK Marlow jkm190518_8435
May Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm190518_8479
May Greenville County SC
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Roxanna Martin rlm51008_153
May Spartanburg County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm5810_198
May Spartanburg County SC
Short-lived perennial with numerous appressed-hairy stems, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm120626_301
June Greenville County SC
Heads subtended by enlarged stipules and/or opposite or subopposite leaves, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120626_303
June Greenville County SC
Lanceolate to elliptical leaflets, each with a prominent pale green "V", per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
COMPARE
leaves that are trifoliolate and palmately compound
)
JK Marlow jkm120626_305
June Greenville County SC
Stems numerous, glabrous or more commonly pilose to villous, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm150607_278
June McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm150607_280
June McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm120703_414
July Greenville County SC
Its flowers are actually rose-purple (occasionally white) [not red], per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm120703_414b
July Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120703_422
July Greenville County SC
Stems numerous from crown, erect or ascending, stout, per Flora of North America.
)
Roxanna Martin rlm71610_227
July Spartanburg County SC
)
Roxanna Martin rlm71909_166
July Spartanburg County SC
Legume ovoid-oblong, circumscissile, 1-seeded, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm060813_128
August Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Probably the best-known clover of the southern mountains, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Trifolium pratense
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Trifolium pratense
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Trifolium pratense
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Trifolium pratense
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-14-005:
Trifolium pratense
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Trifolium pratense
1539
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Common (uncommon in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 3 leaflets
Mostly alternate
Stipules conspicuous, persistent, & adnate to the petiole
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Pink, purplish
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p380
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p060
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p343
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p033
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p208
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p143
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p180
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p085
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".
Or try alternate spellings: If "wooly" doesn't work, try "woolly" or just "wool".