Scientific Name:
Trifolium repens
Pronunciation:
try-FOE-lee-um REE-penz
Common Name:
white clover, Dutch clover
Family Name:
Fabaceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial
Key ID Features:
Low-growing perennial herb with runners 10-60cm long, often rooting at nodes; leaves alternate, trifoliate, most leaflets ovate, 1-2cm long x 0.5-1.5cm wide, usually with a lighter green v-shaped marking half-blade to base, margin serrulate, apex often notched; raceme very compact, head-like or umbel-like, oval-round, 1-2cm wide, white or slightly pinkish, florets tubular, 5-10mm long; legume 4-6mm long with 1 to 4 seeds.
Habit:
Spreading
Form:
Creeping / Mat-like
Texture:
Fine
Mature Height:
0.2 - 0.4m
Mature Spread:
0.3 - 0.6m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Europe (Naturalized In BC)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 4: (-34 to -29 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Rocky or gravelly or dry, Well-drained
Water Use:
Low
Landscape Uses:
Attract beneficial insects, Container planting, Group or mass planting, Reclamation, Urban agriculture
Additional Info:
Google. Cultivar shown include T. 'Atropurpureum' (Dark Dancer™). Other cultivars include T. 'Dragon's Blood' .
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Compound
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Compound Leaf:
Trifoliate (ternate)
Colour in Summer:
Green, The cultivar 'Dark Dancer' has dramatic dark purple red leaf blades,each surrounded by a bright green margin.
Shapes:
Obovate, Orbicular
Apices:
Emarginate or retuse, Truncate
Bases:
Obtuse
Margins:
Serrulate
Inflorescence Type:
Raceme, Head-like
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Bilabiate
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White (Creamy white, some light pink)
Flower Scent:
Fragrant
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Florets tightly clustered due to short internodes and pedicels
Fruit Type:
Legume
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
Additional Info:
Not showy
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green
Organ Modifications:
Root nodules (N-fixing), Runners (or stolons), Stipule, leafy
Propagation:
Seed, Layering
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
(Pest resistant, Disease resistant)
