White clover
From Free net encyclopedia
{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = White Clover | status = Conservation status: Secure | image = trifolium-repens.jpg | image_width = 240px | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Magnoliophyta | classis = Magnoliopsida | ordo = Fabales | familia = Fabaceae | subfamilia = Faboideae | genus = Trifolium | species = T. repens | binomial = Trifolium repens | binomial_authority = L. }}
White Clover (Trifolium repens) is a species of clover native to Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. It has been widely introduced elsewhere in the world as a pasture crop.
It is a herbaceous perennial plant. It is a low growing, with heads of whitish flowers, often with a tinge of pink or cream. The heads are generally 1.5-2 cm wide, and are at the end of 7 cm peduncles or flower stalks [1]. The leaves are trifoliolate, smooth, elliptic to egg-shaped and long-petioled. The stems function as stolons, so white clover often forms mats with the stems creeping as much as 18 cm a year, and rooting at the nodes [1].
Image:White clover close 800.jpg
Cultivation and Uses
White clover grows in turfgrass, crops, and landscapes [1]. It is also found in a wide range of different field type environments. White clover can tolerate close mowing. It can grow on many different types and pHs of soil, but prefers clay [1].
Besides making an excellent forage crop for livestock, clovers are a valuable survival food: they are high in protein, widespread, and abundant. They are not easy to digest raw, but this can be easily fixed by boiling for 5-10 minutes [2]. Dried flowerheads and seedpods can also be ground up into a nutritious flour and mixed with other foods. Dried flowerheads also can be steeped in hot water for a healthy, tasty tea-like infusion.
References
- 1) Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal and Joseph M. Ditomaso, Weeds of The Northeast, (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997), Pp. 236-237.
- 2) Lee Allen Peterson, Edible Wild Plants, (New York City: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977), P. 56.bg:Пълзяща детелина
da:Hvid-Kløver de:Weißklee fr:Trèfle blanc nl:Witte klaver ja:シロツメクサ pl:Koniczyna biała sv:Vitklöver