Pea Family [Fabaceae] |
status
flower
flower
flower
morph
petals
type
type
stem
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Amidst Tufted Vetch, Black Medick and other grassland plants. Similar to White Clover but with taller stems, up to 40cm high. |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
A cluster of bicoloured pink/white from above. With the similar White Clover very close-by (top right). |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Stems often hollow and more upright than White Clover and not creeping-rooting as is White Clover. |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
The plant is nearly hairless. The flowers always arise from leaf axils and are never just atop flower stems which do not arise at leaf axils. Oval and long-pointed stipules arise at stem junctions. |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Trefoil leaves with leaflets narrower than those of White Clover and without grey-green chevron markings. Leaflets with a tooth at the termination of every vein. |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Normally has white flowers, but may also be pink, or even purple. Florets clustered into a globe at first, but often become flattened on top with radiating flowers. |
13th Sept 2018, arable field, Upholland, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers on top are at first directed upwards with their banner appearing as a rowing-boat shape with the wings within closed and hiding the keels. |
13th Sept 2018, arable field, Upholland, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Birds-eye view of rowing-boat like wings, which have radiating darker-pink veins. |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Some flower-heads are pink and white. |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Bird's eye view. Sepals hairless un-like those of Red Clover. |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
A little like Crown Vetch from above. |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The banner (largest petal) is above. Sepal teeth green, long-triangular. |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
From below showing sepals and long sepal teeth. |
13th Sept 2018, arable field, Upholland, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
The calyx tubes are white with long green teeth. |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Sepal teeth about twice as long as the sepal tube (on White Clover they are about half the length of the sepal tube). |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Almost globular flower-head |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
From below, like a starship with bomb-doors open (wings wide open showing the bomb-like keel ready for dropping). Ten stamens lie hidden within the keel. |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Turning brown and Going to seed. |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
A developing flower-head to the right. |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Teeth, forwardly and finely-pointed, somewhat unevenly distributed. Stipules at every stem junction. |
2nd July 2015, Ainsdale dunes, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaves of Alsike Clover are a here a brighter green than those of the darker-green White Clover nearby with greyish-green chevron markings. |
5th July 2014, Rimrose Valley Country Pk, Waterloo, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Stem often hollow. |
Many similarities to : White Clover (Trifolium repens) - see captions for differences. Despite the binomial name Trifolium hybridus Alsike Clover is not a hybrid with anything, but a separate species; botanically it is simply that the naming author thinks that the species is morphologically intermediate between two other plants already described. It was originally thought to be a hybrid between Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) and White Clover (Trifolium repens) [with which it is more alike], but it is not. If it really was a hybrid, then the botanical name would include a '×' between the genus name and the specific epithet. The fact that this '×' is omitted indicates that it only looked like a hybrid. It is native to Europe and mountainous regions of SW Asia. In the UK it is classed as a neophyte having been introduced, and escapes from gardens. Usually white, but pink and bi-coloured specimens are fairy common. Purple specimens are rarer, although as it ages the colours do deepen before going brown. A sub-species Trifolium hybridum ssp. hybridum is cultivated and widely grown as a forage crop for stock, which has become naturalised. It is found in waste places, grassland, meadows, banks and roadsides.
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Trifolium | hybridum | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Fabaceae |
Trifolium (Clovers) |
Pea Family [Fabaceae] |